The Underworld

"The Underworld" charts the history of professional and organised crime in Britain from the post-war period to the present day. The author, Duncan Campbell, examines the evolution of criminals and their crimes and investigates how the wartime petty criminal, who ran black markets and fiddled rations, became the flash racketeer of Soho in London. How did the once small-time villain become the Hollywood gangster-style hood of the 1950s, armed with razors and handguns? And how did these hoods evolve into the business criminals of today who perpetrate fraud on a multi-million scale? "The Underworld" also explores the world of safe-breaking, smash and grab and shoplifting on an international scale with the characters like Zef Boswell, Johnny Ramensky and Shirley Pitts. We see how the disorganised thugs of the fifties grouped to create highly organised gangs, with criminals such as the Kray Twins who believed they were untouchable, and the police heroes like Detective Chief Superintendent "Nipper" Read who proved that they weren't. "The Underworld" features crimes like the Brinks-Mat and Great Train robberies, the crumbling of the BCCI empire and the "Lady" Rose Aberdour charity scandal. International money laundering, drug smuggling, bank fraud and murder are all a part of this underworld where police informers have often had prices on their heads and where the credibility of the police and justice system have come into question. Duncan Campbell is a journalist for "The Guardian". His previous book "That Was Business, This is Personal - The Changing Pace of Professional Crime" (Secker & Warburg) illustrates his keen interest in crime.