I give this book a 4/5 because it's a seminal work in traditional criminology and a popular theory. The book itself is fairly repetitive and now dated, but I didn't score it for that.

The main issue GST has is the one most criminological theory has. Namely, that it discounts or disregards important underlying class issues and structures of power and inequality (by socioeconomic status, gender, and race, especially). GST is rooted in the idea of crime as an objective phenomenon, and so it fails to explain why certain crimes exist in the first place. GST is reactive theory with a limited scope, not proactive or even thoroughly preventative.

On the other hand, these are the areas in which critical theory and punishment theories shine (along with even some psychological theories). If you want to truly understand crime, read about those instead. But if you are interested in the narrow view of criminology's popular theories, and perhaps an important part of its traditional history of thought, this book is worth a read.