Soldier, Sailor, Beggarman, Thief

Clive Emsley was educated at the University of York and at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and has taught and held visiting fellowships in Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. He has published widely on the history of crime and policing, including Crime and Society in England 1750-1900 (now in its fourth edition), Crime and Society in Twentieth-Century England and The Great British Bobby: A History of British Policing from the 18th Century to the Present. He was president of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice for ten years.

• Introduction ; 1. 'The Object of Military Law is to Maintain Discipline': Different laws for different people ; 2. 'A court of justice and not a court of law!': Courts and justice in the services ; 3. 'Law Makes Crime': What difference does war make? ; 4. 'The biggest thieves in the world': Service personnel and property crime ; 5. 'I didn't like the officer... and I don't like you': Crimes against the person ; 6. 'The unwritten law': Servicemen and domestic violence ; 7. The shell-shock defence ; 8. Post-war crime waves? ; 9. Conscripts and Professionals: Beyond the world wars ; 10. 'I could have done other stuff': The return to professional services

This is a scholarly, well-documented account, and much of the book is given over to colorful specific accounts that make it utterly fascinating reading, suitable for a large audience.