nal religion seeks. The sensual factor in this context gives his study an even more chilling atmosphere.
Katz is certainly correct when he predicts that his book may "violat[e] the reader's sensibilities" (3). He argues that the sociological platitude "To understand is to forgive" is untrue and does not apply to his work on criminals, but in fact he seems to seek something beyond either understanding or forgiving. Katz, to this reader, is trying to lead the reader to share his view that criminals are unique individuals who in their criminal activity are trying, however perversely, to achieve contact with a world of the spirit far beyond economic or social considerations. This world of "spirit," of course, is far more the realm of evil than of good.
Katz thoroughly documents his work, showing his skills and training a
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