Vice Capades: Sex, Drugs, and Bowling from the Pilgrims to the Present (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781612348940)

From outlawing bowling in colonial America to regulating violent video games and synthetic drugs today, Mark Stein's Vice Capades examines the nation's relationship with the actions, attitudes, and antics that have defined morality. This humorous and quirky history reveals that our views of vice are formed not merely by morals but by power.

While laws against nude dancing have become less restrictive, laws restricting sexual harassment have been enacted. While marijuana is no longer illegal everywhere, restrictive laws have been enacted against cigarettes. Stein examines this nation's inconsistent moral compass and how the powers-that-be in each era determine what is or is not deemed a vice. From the Puritans who founded Massachusetts with unyielding, biblically based laws to those modern purveyors of morality who currently campaign against video game violence, Vice Capades looks at the American history we all know from a fresh and exciting perspective and shows how vice has shaped our nation, sometimes without us even knowing it.

Author: Mark Stein
ISBN-10: 1612348947
ISBN-13: 9781612348940
Publisher: Potomac Books
Language: English
Published: 07/01/2017
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.83h x 6.40w x 1.17d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2017