Better Betting with a Decent Feller by Carl Chinn

Better Betting with a Decent Feller by Carl Chinn

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.

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781845130091
ISBN 10	184513009X
Title	Better Betting with a Decent Feller
Author	Carl Chinn
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Quarto Publishing PLC
Year published	2004-10-31
Number of pages	384
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable