Books like Crime and Punishment in American History

I finished this a month ago and just got around to reviewing it. I picked it up because my brother is taking a graduate course with the same title in May, and this book is one of the required readings. It's very basic, offering a broad overview of the subject, and I can't say I learned anything really new in terms of either information or interpretation. It is very well organized and structured, and Friedman's topic sentences are excellent. His treatment of the 17th century period of settlement in New England and in the southern colonies is probably the most interesting section wherein he describes the English Common Law principles and precedents and how the settlers selected which to adopt and which to reject.