"Sex offenders are everywhere in public discourse about crime and deviance, yet virtually absent from the scholarly literature about prisons and punishment. In this hugely ambitious and penetrating book, Ricciardelli and Spencer draw on a broad conceptual repertoire to help theorise the regulation, treatment and experiences of sex offenders, in correctional settings and beyond. This is a very impressive piece of work, a significant contribution to our knowledge, and a text that is likely to generate a great deal of further research and reflection."

- Dr Ben Crewe, Deputy Director of the Prisons Research Centre, University of Cambridge, UK

"This is a compelling work that shows how sexual lawbreakers have been and continue to be misunderstood. Ricciardelli and Spencer convincingly assert that the explanations for the ways in which sex offenders are perceived or regarded may be found in sexual expectations and must be considered in light of emotions, gender, power, and stigmatization. They provide an important and much-needed discussion of the prison experiences of sexual lawbreakers, including how incarcerated sex offenders work to manage their spoiled identities for purposes of safety and survival."

- David Patrick Connor, Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Seattle University, USA