The Business cover art

The Business

Talking with Thieves, Gangsters and Dealers

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The Business

By: Dick Hobbs
Narrated by: Dick Hobbs
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About this listen

Professor Dick Hobbs is a leading commentator on the culture of crime and criminality. East End born and bred, he is a fascinating dichotomy of the criminal and the intellectual world, allowing him a unique insight into a subject that holds fascination for so many.

When he was growing up, the East End was rocking with dock strikes, thievery and the kind of family values practiced by the Krays the Tibbs and a few dozen other outlaw clans. Violence was everywhere. Crime was an unavoidable fact of life. However, his real education in Plaistow taught him that the real essence of illegal capitalism is to be found amongst the poor bloody infantry of the crime world: the jump-up merchants, lorry highjackers, warehouse thieves and middle-market drug dealers. These are the people with whom he has spent most of his professional life, and along with more exalted villains such as Mad Frankie Frazer and Charlie Richardson, these are the characters who feature in the book, weaving the stories of these fearsome gangsters with the history and evolution of the UK underworld.

©2021 Dick Hobbs (P)2021 Bonnier Books Ltd Organized Crime True Crime Mafia

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All stars
Most relevant  
Nice to hear crime doesn’t (always) pay! Good story of the good/bad old days🥴

Unglamorous!

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Great insight into the underworld of the Uk! Well read and structured, 10/10 very interesting stories and insight.

Great listen

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Really interesting book , well narrated a very different insight into British crime past to present

Very entertaining

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This was very entertaining about the gangster scene after WW2. Full of stories and antidotes some will make you laugh others cringe at the violence committed.

I loved the narrator with his English gangster accent

Entertaining

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Crime is not a glamorous as it portrays, not everyone hits the big time. Brilliant book.

Great insight

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Dick Hobbs combines personal and observational history with lightly worn scholarship in this deeply subversive history that deconstructs professional and 'organised' 20th century crime and its policing in London in its social and historical context. The audio version is read in his authentic but nicely modulated and varied East End voice, Nice one, Dick.

Absorbing account of London organised criminality

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It is refreshing to hear crown told from both sides of the hierarchies and someone of the truths about skill sets and motives and honour being exposed and elaborated on. There is a big difference between rank and file and successful villains in one sense and then at the end of the day it is all down to who you really help - whoever you are !

I had the pleasure of meeting Dick recently and I am glad he created this piece of work - very enlightening and most importantly honest. Mick G

Refreshing

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it was not what I thought it would be. Didn't feel like it easy going anywhere so I threw the towel in at chapter 3.

how boring it was

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boring tales from start to finish which seemed like figments or imagination, a complete waste of time and money

nothing

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