'It is difficult to imagine any subject more crucial to the analysis of social affairs today than that of character. And it is impossible to imagine any book more enlightening on this subject than this collection of essays by one of our most distinguished social thinkers. Ranging from private virtues through public policies, from education through crime, from the 1940s through the 1990s, James Q. Wilson provides original and provocative commentaries on our most urgent problems.' - Gertrude Himmelfarb, Author, The De-Moralization of Society: From Victory Virtues to Modern Values | On Character by James Q. Wilson, Paperback | Indigo Chapters