Book Review: Lincoln’s dilemma: Blair, Sumner, and the republican struggle over racism and equality in the civil war era

• Author: Sarah Britto
• Published date: 01 December 2015
• Date: 01 December 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734016815588363
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews
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everyday coping and identity practices for young immigrant men living in Finland and how they
perform ‘‘toughness’’ and vulnerability, as well as the role of race, masculinities, identity, and vul-
nerability for men falsely accused of rape in Denmark. The final chapter extends the analysis beyond
the Nordic geographical context to explore ‘‘militarized masculinity’’ and sexualized war violence
directed at men in Yugoslavia.
Section 3 is finally organized around the theme of risk taking and control, drawing upon and
expanding traditional areas of concern within criminological theory that focus on impulsivity and
lack of control among mainly young male offenders. Here the contributors engage more explicitly
with themes not just of illegality and criminality but also with normality and deviance, as repre-
sented in chapters on the conventionally familiar topics of car racing, gambling, and drug taking.
Here conceptual assumptions and stereotypes surrounding mainly young masculinities are explored
and contested within arenas familiar to criminologists, overturning some notions concerning mascu-
linities, enjoyment, embodiment, and lack of control, as, for example, in the emphasis on being on
the need to be ‘‘in control’’ for young Swedish men involved in car racing and the adrenalin rush of
speed. Similar findings are offered as a result of research into gambling practices and behaviors
among men taking part in that most masculine of high stakes brinkmanship: poker playing. An
interview-based study of illegal poker gambling in Denmark (i.e., gambling for large sums) shows
how gambling is compared by participants to physical fighting and subject to similar norms of com-
petitiveness, risk taking, and self-control. A significant payoff of the pleasure gained by men parti-
cipating in poker gambling is the gendered character of its attendant ‘‘virtues’’ as a masculine
activity and gendered cultural forum.
This is an interesting and compelling addition to the existing...