Late 20th century American has the distinction of being history's most violent "civilized" nation. But even the rapid pace at which it has become so is still gradual enough that we are no longer shocked by it. Like the frog who will jump out of scalding water but will allow itself to be parboiled in water that is heated slowly enough, much of the American public has become inured and desensitized to the horrors of violent crime. Look at the four and five fold per capita increases since the 1950s - putting America as the lead industrialized nation in rates of murder, rape, and violent crime. THIS COPY IS USED.