V. M. (Vincent Myron) Masten

Vincent Myron Masten, often published as V. M. Masten, was an American author whose books focused on crime, criminals, and prison reform. Library and archive records connect his name with works including The Crime Problem (1909), Stop Thief (1921), Criminal Types (1922), and Crime and Correction (1923).

Several records also identify him as "Col. Vincent Myron Masten," and bookseller and catalog descriptions link him to work in the New York State prison system. That background helps explain the direct, experience-based tone of his writing: he was less interested in abstract theory than in how institutions actually shaped criminal behavior and rehabilitation.

Today, Masten is mainly remembered through public-domain editions and library holdings rather than a large modern biography. Even so, his books offer a revealing window into how crime and correction were debated in his era, especially by someone writing from inside the world of penal administration.