See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

16 used & new from £3.15
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by Donald Thomas (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from £75.00 13 used from £3.15
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New edition) 5 used & new from £3.56

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Their Darkest Hour: The Hidden History of the Home Front 1939-1945

Their Darkest Hour: The Hidden History of the Home Front 1939-1945

by Stuart Hylton
3.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.99
When the Lights Went Down: Crime in Wartime London

When the Lights Went Down: Crime in Wartime London

by Steve Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £7.59
The Myth of the Blitz

The Myth of the Blitz

by Angus Calder
2.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £11.19
The People's War: Britain, 1939-45

The People's War: Britain, 1939-45

by Angus Calder
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £12.59
Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)

Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Tales of a New Jerusalem)

by David Kynaston
4.5 out of 5 stars (11)  £6.59
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 16 pages
  • Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd; illustrated edition edition (3 Jul 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0719557321
  • ISBN-13: 978-0719557323
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 464,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #45 in  Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Animal Sciences > Habitats > Desert

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Images of war
   www.jacar.go.jp    Free access to historical data Millions of documents and images 
  
 

Product Description

Review
'Well researched catalogue of infamy' -- The Times 20040214 'Fascinating book ... a richly readable and absorbing account' -- Times Higher Education Supplement 20031219 'This is a wonderful book, the best I have read for ages. It is beautifully written, utterly compelling: almost without fault in every respect. Thomas, who was a boy during the war, understands his metier intimately' -- Simon Heffer, Literary Review 20031219 'In this astonishing book Donald Thomas shows, in utterly absorbing detail, just how common ! criminal behaviour was in Britain during the Second World War' -- Sunday Times 20031219 'Thomas has excelled himself. His book is mesmerising and is an unputdownable and brilliantly researched page-turner. An important and riveting study in social history, it also has a very pertinent relevance in the overtaxed, overruled and crime-riddled society that is Britain today.' -- Sunday Times 20031219 'Having read this magnificent book, one understands that such humour is so powerful because it is rooted in the shared experience of a country at war' -- Simon Heffer, Literary Review 20031219 'Donald Thomas's fascinating book ... is full of wonderful examples of dishonesty, from the most mundane ... to the shocking' -- Daily Telegraph 20040228 'Wartime Britain was full of people who resisted the call to altruism ... Thomas's account, filled with anecdotes and eye-opening detail, brings them back to life' -- Sunday Times 20040328 'If you thought the home front in WWII was about good citizens being decent and upstanding, think again: it was a racketeer's paradise' -- Time Out 20030601

Times Higher Education Supplement
'Fascinating book ... a richly readable and absorbing account'

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(4)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War
78% buy the item featured on this page:
An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
When the Lights Went Down: Crime in Wartime London
9% buy
When the Lights Went Down: Crime in Wartime London 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.59
Their Darkest Hour: The Hidden History of the Home Front 1939-1945
8% buy
Their Darkest Hour: The Hidden History of the Home Front 1939-1945 3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.99
Villains' Paradise: Britain's Underworld from the Spivs to the Krays
5% buy
Villains' Paradise: Britain's Underworld from the Spivs to the Krays 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£6.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant detailed account, 6 Mar 2008
By Pillboxer1940 (Walmington-on-Sea, UK) - See all my reviews
The black-market antics of Dad's Army's loveable rogue Private Walker created many a laugh in the 1970's. Just thirty years earlier, they were far from funny, helping to undermine Britain's war-scarred and struggling economy. What was worse, this form of parasitic racketeering was endemic throughout all levels of British society, from the family man just getting a few extra clothing coupons from `under the counter' for his loved ones, right up to the Liverpool shipyard magnate who cheated the government of £20 million - with the aid of Admiralty officials. Even greyhound racing was riven by dog doping and race fixing by a nationwide ring of gangsters.

Reassurance can be gained for those worried about today's crime levels by this strange double negative: things were just as bad, if not worse then, but were not reported for fear of damaging morale.

This thick and meticulously researched tome is essential and fascinating reading, peeling away the lid on the dank world of home front crime, previously sealed by sixty years of bulldog spirit nostalgia. But here's a thought: perhaps in sixty years time, some too will view the crimes of 2008 with rose-tinted glasses, as the comforting `good old days'?
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous excellent readable book, 3 Jan 2009
This review is from: An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War (Paperback)
So good i read it twice in a year. Absolutely recommended.

I was also reading the WW11 & post war, part of John Farrell's "An utterly impartial history of britain" at the same time. They complemented each other well.

These are the human stories we never learnt at school. The research is first class and its written in an easy but intelligent way. Remember how we thought Dunkirk was a victory?

All the spivs and corruption are here. I know from my older uncles etc what they got up to. There is room for another book on this subject.

I wonder what corruption goes on now and what will happen in the credit crisis? Government burocracy is so passive and full of holes. Rationing went on to 1954... why? If we accept and allow £100billion NHS incompetance what is happening behind the scenes?

An excellent read with humour.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Parasite's Paradise, 18 Jun 2009
This review is from: An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War (Paperback)


Prewar crime tended to consist of motorised smash and grab raids, prostitution and protection rackets. The outbreak of war did nothing to reduce such crime, if anything, the war (with its blackouts and rationing) increased it. While men died for King and country the underworld and many supposedly respectable people went on the lam, robbed on the home front and made a fortune out of illegal activities.

They were helped, ironically, by strict liability laws which were enforced by agents provocateurs playing on people's sympathies as well as their greed and by systematic corruption in some official institutions. Many were people dodging the draft, which was swelled between June 1944 and March 1945 by over 10,000 deserters from the D Day troops. In Hammersmith over 120 air raid shelters were found to be incapable of withstanding any bomb blast. The overcharge to the council was over one million pounds in current terms.

The chain of suppliers in the black market in food included some members of the Ministry of Food, one of whom was sent to penal servitude for four years. There were widespread calls for floggings and executions to meet the social threat. The blackout was "a present from Hitler" which allowed opportunities for theft and not only from the rich. People often returned to their bombed out homes to discover they had been looted. Budding criminals such as Frankie Fraser had no qualms about stealing from those unable to afford to replace their goods.

There were many scams including the "bomb lark" when people would attend the local National Assistance office and claim necessities based on having been bombed out of their home. As the fraud was virtually impossible to check it was easy to perpetrate with one individual claiming nineteen times in five months. He was sentenced to three years penal servitude.

Nor was fraud confined to individuals. A Liverpool shipping merchant shot himself in 1942 when his accounts were found to be inaccurate. By bolstering his workforce to complete non-existent jobs he was able to embezzle the equivalent of £200,000 a week in current terms, hiding the equivalent of £12 million in a variety of banks in the Lake District. His partners in crime included a Liverpool City Councillor, senior naval personnel and the assistant secretary of Liverpool Football Club.

Several well known people were prosecuted, including Noel Coward and Ivor Novello, the latter imprisoned for his indiscretion, while there was malicious satisfaction when the high and mighty fell. Major-General Sir Percy Laurie, Provost Marshal of Great Britain, claimed that his holding two ration books was based on the mistaken notion that he was entitled to have one for Great Britain and another when abroad. Anticipating the current MP Expenses scandal he insisted he "had not the slightest idea that he had done anything wrong".

The collapse of sexual morality which occurred was an inevitable outcome of war time and led to a rise in the murder rate as trigger happy soldiers and civilians went on the rampage. Even then the law was enforced with hypocrisy as in the raid on a brothel which was timed to ensure that the MP's and Cabinet Ministers thought to frequent the establishment would be engaged with their official duties and could avoid arrest.

The notion of the friendly neighbourhood spiv doing people a favour by acting as a supplier of goods in short supply tended to hide just what obnoxious parasites they were. Their motive was greed (frequently they took the money and ran) and their objective was to avoid making a contribution to the nation's fight for survival by exploiting other people's misfortune and misery. Donald Thomas has exposed their parasitic world for what it was and with an objectivity they don't deserve. Read this five star book yourself and make up your own mind.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Donald Serrell Thomas

Cochrane: Britannia's Sea...

Cochrane: Britannia's Sea Wolf: The...

This is a reprint of Thomas's 1975 biography of the sea-captain he... Read more

 

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates