Better Betting with a Decent Feller: A Social History of Bookmaking - Couverture rigide

Chinn, Carl

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 184513009X ISBN 13 : 9781845130091

Editeur : Aurum Press, 2004

Synopsis

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.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Noted social historian Carl Chinn is the author of 21 books on working-class life in Birmingham and the UK. Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham, he is also a popular local radio broadcaster and newspaper columnist.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Aurum Press
• Date d'édition: 2004
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 184513009X
• ISBN 13: 9781845130091
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 384
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible