Butterfield's book, "In My Father's House" gives new meaning to the term "crime family". The author has made a study of how criminal behavior can extend throughout entire families and over generations. Possibly, this book may change your mind about believing that criminal behavior is most closely related to race. Butterfield makes the case that a strong influence in criminal behavior is family values, and criminal activity can be spread within families, from father to son, among siblings, and can extend to the next generation as well. The book shows how families can have a very strong influence on criminal behavior. One European study has shown in that area, just 5% of families account for one-half of the crimes, and 10% of families account for almost two-thirds of crimes.

The Author examines one particular family, the Bogle's, who from the early 1900's up through recent times had dozens of family members continually in and out of jail for petty crimes, burglary, car theft, assault, and up to homicide. It was a family way of life, something learned from the father, and passed down to sons, reinforced by siblings, and sustained by a desire to copy each other and outdo each other. It became the only way of life each family member knew. ( )

This is a fascinating look at how crime "travels" through families, providing a close look at one family throughout several generations, over 60 members of which ended up in jail/prison at one time or another. It is clear that Butterfield was passionate about his topic and meticulously researched and investigated the Bogle family (detailed notes and information about his sources are provided in the book). The first half provides a broad overview of the early Bogles, crime, and the legal/justice system, while the second half gives us a closer look into the lives and crimes of various members of the family. The book also asks a lot of important questions, ultimately without answering them: why is our justice system so broken? Why do so many people "slip through the cracks"? How much effect does mental health have on crime/criminality? How can we stop the family tradition of crime? It was a very eye opening book for me, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in true crime or criminal justice studies, heartbreaking though it is. ( )