American culture is characterized by a strong emphasis on the goal of monetary success and by a weak emphasis on the importance of legitimate means of pursuing success. This combination of strong pressures to succeed monetarily and weak restraints on the selection of means is intrinsic to the dominant cultural ethos, the American Dream. The American Dream contributes to crime directly by encouraging people to employ illegal means to achieve goals that are culturally approved. The American Dream also exerts an indirect effect on crime through its links to the institutional balance of power in society. Book chapters cover the central premise of the authors that high levels of serious crime result from the normal functioning of the social system in the United States, the nature of the crime problem in the contemporary United States, dominant sociological perspectives in contemporary criminology, and macro-sociological dimensions of crime. The book concludes with an analysis of theoretical and policy implications of analyzing the American Dream as a cause of crime. References, notes, and figures