This is the brief version of Cole and Smith's American System of Criminal Justice (see page 7), the first modern criminal justice textbook. This lower cost, shorter version still holds all of the hallmarks of "The Eagle": solid and balanced research within a social science context that takes into account the economic, political, sociological, historical, and philosophical implications of the criminal justice system. Written in an approachable manner, this text contains all of the necessary course material but in a less extensive fashion.