'Glittering... the author's obvious enthusiasm for the subject is matched by impressive
erudition' The Spectator 'The readable scary fun beach read of new crime literature'
Financial Times When does a bandit become a monarch? When does a gang become a government?
And is organised crime at the heart of every modern state? On a thrilling whistle-stop tour
of how the world's criminal underbelly has shaped state-making capitalism globalisation and
all forms of so-called legitimate power Homo Criminalis shows the emergence of modern society
through the evolution of the underworld and its crimes. From Chinese banditry and
eighteenth-century English tea smuggling to today's cocaine submarines and the high-tech crimes
of tomorrow this book shows us how the world's dark underbelly shapes us no matter how we try
to outpace it. Entertaining engaging and packed full of fascinating stories Homo Criminalis
is a book for those who want to see our grand story of progress through the surprising and
subversive new lens of organised crime.
