THIEVES' KITCHEN
Charles Hamilton; Victor Gollancz. English price, 13/6. ost of the Americans telling these *"" exciting stories, and telling them very well, are thieves. A few tales come from bootleggers and hijackers, with | here and there a word from tackatners | who control cathouses (brothels) and | junkies (dope peddlers). Murder is | barely mentioned. There is an immense variety of thieves represented, from crude moll-buzzers (bag-snatchers) to highly skilled boxmen (safecrackers), including badgers (black-, mailers), buncos (cardsharpers), carnies (swindlers at carnivals), tools and wires (pickpockets) and scratchmen (forgers). The most subtle and entertaining are the confidence men, whose victims are invariably very rich yet not above trying to become richer by some shady deal. The main grudge of these thieves is against the host of shyster lawyers, crooked cops and gangster politicians who draw a rich living from their skill and courage without sharing their risks. Risks are high and happy endings very rare. According to the editor, "less than 390 years ago torture was commonly applied in all the large prisons of America." There are moving descriptions of ordeals on the derrick and in the. straitjacket, | of starving in solitary confinement and of work in chain gangs. It is a shock to learn that "physical torture of convicts is now outlawed in most States." (My italics.) Even when he responds to the modern effort to reform rather than to punish, the ~ex-con has a very hard run-the dicks are always riding him, and ‘his hoodlum pals give him a quick brush-off as a copper-hearted flunky who lacks the moxie to stick with the blot. Fortunately there is a glossary with this well-edited book. A strong case could be made for banning it as an excellent textMEN OF THE UNDERWORLD, edited :
DooK for thieves.
T.O.
G.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 736, 21 August 1953, Page 13
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294THIEVES' KITCHEN New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 736, 21 August 1953, Page 13
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