Now a professor of community history, broadcaster and writer, carl Chinn was himself a bookmaker, and his father and grandfather were illegal street bookies. through an exciting mixture of oral history, letters, newspapers and traditional documents he brings his own unique perspective to this colourful and compelling account of the profession's history - from its origins to the recent rapid growth of the leisure empires such as Coral and William Hill, and the explosion both in betting on 'vitual' horse races and in internet betting on events taking place all over the world.
in the 1950s I went to his runner to take a bet now hes a nice sort of chap but when I read about the hard times in the 50s that he goes on about he does not say that he went with out like the rest of us