Steve Hall is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Teesside University. Often described as a polymath, he has published in the elds of criminology, sociology, politics, cultural theory, philosophy, history and anthropology. He is author of numerous articles and book chapters. He is co-author of Criminal Identities and Consumer Culture (Routledge/Willan, 2008) and Riots and Political Protest (Routledge, 2015). He is co-editor of New Directions in Criminological Theory (Routledge, 2012).

Simon Winlow is Professor of Social Science at Northumbria University. An interdisciplinary scholar, he is the author or co-author of Criminal Identities and Consumer Culture (Routledge/Willam, 2008) and Riots and Political Protest (Routledge, 2015). He is also the co-editor of New Directions in Criminological Theory (Routledge, 2012) and New Directions in Crime and Deviancy (Routledge, 2012).

1. Introduction 2. Mainstream Classical and Contemporary Theories 3. The Critical Tradition 4. The Radical Realist Response 5. Untangling the Politics of Criminological Theory 6. The Dawn of Ultra-Realist Criminological Theory 7. Adventures in Ultra-Realist Research 8. Reality Bites: A Response to Ultra-Realism's Critics 9. Advances in Ultra-Realism's Theoretical Framework 10. Conclusion: Still Approaching the Reality of Our Times