In this volume Rita J. Simon brings together a clearly organized and accessible collection of scholarly essays on the world's most pressing social problems. Each of the contributors address a specific issue--gambling, prisons, alcohol, AIDS, rape, prisons, juvenile justice, abortion, and guns--by examining the institutions and laws different societies have developed for containing them. Each of the countries selected represents a range of variations in political, economic, religious/ethical/social orientations and characteristics. This comparative and interdisciplinary world perspective makes Simon's edited volume uniquely relevant to political scientists, sociologist, criminologists, psychologists and the broader audience of scholars and laypeople interested in the study of contemporary social problems.