Soldier, Sailor, Beggarman, Thief

Crime and the British Armed Services since 1914

Clive Emsley author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:24th Jan '13

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Soldier, Sailor, Beggarman, Thief cover

The belief that crime declines at the beginning of major wars, as young men are drawn into the armed forces, and increases with the restoration of peace, as brutalised veterans are released on to a labour market reorganising for peace, has a long pedigree in Britain. But it has rarely been examined critically and scarcely at all for the period of the two world wars of the twentieth century. This is the first serious investigation of criminal offending by members of the British armed forces both during and immediately after these wars. Its particular focus is the two world wars but, recognising the concerns and the problems voiced in recent years about veterans of the Falklands, the Gulf wars, and the campaign in Afghanistan, Clive Emsley concludes his narrative in the present.

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. * P. T. Smith, CHOICE *
This is an impressive book, the product of considerable research and informed by the mastery of the relationship between crime and society, the history of policing and the development of criminal law, which has made Emsley a leading authority in his field. * A.W, Purdue, Times Higher Education *
this volume is recommended to any historian interested in the social history of the two world wars. Its engaging style and readability, as well as the final chapters that explore the question of criminal behavior and military justice in the British armed services after 1945, will appeal to all those interested in twentieth-century British history, to which it makes an original and important contribution. * Jessica Meyer, The American Historical Review *
Until now no one has carried out a systematic study of crime in Britain's mass armed forces. With this exceptionally well-researched and very readable study, Clive Emsley has now filled this gap in the historiography ... it deserves a wide readership. * Gary Sheffield, History Today *
This is a well-written and researched academic text on the law and the British Armed Services which is both readable and accessible to the non-specialist in law or criminology, while still providing a detailed and insightful discussion, which may very well become a standard text on the subject. * Dr Phylomena H. Badsey, Policing *
inspired by this author's graceful handling of such a compelling historical phenomenon * Andrew Muldoon, Reviews in History *
Clive Emsley's book offers and overview of the pattern of enforcement of military law since 1914 suggesting, in particular, that civilian criminal experience, with some important qualifications, has been replicated in the armed forces since 1914. * Gerry Rubin, Journal of Law and Society *
Throughout the book, the discussion is detailed and concise with regular use of researched cases serving to support, and complement, the analysis. * Daniel Packham, The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice *
This is a well-written and researched academic text on the law and the British Armed Services which is both readable and accessible to the non-specialist in law or criminology, while still providing a detailed and insightful discussion, which may very well become a standard text on the subject. * Policing *
rich material ... offers a basis for exciting new ideas and methodologies for projects interweaving crime and military history * Eloise Moss, English Historical Review *

ISBN: 9780199653713

Dimensions: 241mm x 162mm x 25mm

Weight: 520g

240 pages