The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting by Rachel Shteir, 256

This was a non-fiction look at shoplifting and how it has evolved over the years, along with society's approach to it. The book starts with a look at London as one of the world's busiest mercantile capital, examining who shoplifted and how, along with how the legal field treated them. The author then follows how the development of department stores seemed to foster an explosion of shoplifters and "kleptomaniacs" a term that still isn't accepted by some of the medical field. I had never known that during the 60's shoplifting was a symbol of resistance against "the man" with Abby Hoffman publishing a book called "Steal This Book". Shteir also looks at how even today, shoplifters are treated extremely different based on race and money in their treatment and sentencing. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the author going into how libraries and bookstores are targets for shoplifters.
While this book was a little dry at times, it was still an informative read.