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Better Betting with a Decent Feller: A Social History of Bookmaking
£3.40
Today, branches of chains such as William Hill and Ladbrokes are familiar sights in high streets across Britain, and betting takes place on all sorts of events – from horse-racing to general elections, from football-match results to the likelihood of snow falling on Christmas Day. Yet until 1961 street bookmakers were illegal, and old prejudices are slow to fade away. A stigma is still attached to bookmaking, and for many people bookmakers remain a disreputable and shady lot. This book sets out to examine why this is the case. Social historian Carl Chinn was himself a bookmaker, like his father and grandfather before him, and therefore brings his own unique perspective to this lively and highly readable account of the profession’s history, from its origins among the sharpsters who hoodwinked punters at racecourses, to the illegal street bookies who offered the working class a tantalising escape from poverty, to the growth of leisure empires such as Coral and William Hill post-legalisation, to gambling on the internet and betting on ‘virtual’ horse races.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Aurum Press, First Edition (31 Oct. 2004) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 184513009X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1845130091 |
by Alex
This is a very useful book for anyone studying this kind of history, or any history related to gambling, gang activity etc.
It puts to rest many of the inaccuracies demonstrated in JP Bean’s book ‘The Sheffield Gang Wars’.
It would also be of interest to anyone simply curious about 20th century history, in the area of gambling and bookmaking.
by chris
everything good
by bibliophile 1961
Not quite what I was expecting, a weighty tome, I was expecting a biographical book but got a history of bookmaking in Britain. No less a read for all that from a writer who certainly knows his subject. Enjoyed it in the most part
by B. McDonald
A fascinating account of bookmaking. Carl Chinn was himself a bookmaker and uses his and his family’s experiences to produce a comprehensive history. He traces the origin of the profession; details its early, often dubious, years; brings alive the growth of illegal street pitches; uncovers racecourse gang wars and the practices of blackmailers and tricksters; to bring us to the present day. A well written and absorbing history, not to be missed by followers of the turf and others who enjoy a good read.