Criminal Conversations An Anthology of the Work of Tony Parker

"Criminal Conversations" is an anthology of the work of Tony Parker, who has been the most outstanding interviewer of criminals since the Second World War. Spanning the 1960s to the 1990s, his work offers intimate and enlightening conversations with all kinds of offenders, including sex offenders, frauds and false pretence merchants, and professional criminals. This collection of Parker's work, selected by the author shortly before his death in 1996, provides the essence of his distinctive contribution to criminology. The book is divided into six major parts dealing with a range of criminals - from petty offenders to those sentenced to death or life imprisonment for murder. The concluding section presents some of Tony Parker's prescriptions for interviewing, as well as reflections by Lyn Smith on his methodology.

This anthology, selected by Tony Parker shortly before his death in 1996, provides the very essence of his quite distinctive contribution to criminology. In it he speaks intimately to all kinds of people including offenders, inadequates, professional criminals, sex offenders, frauds and false pretence merchants and prisoners on death row. Lyn Smith concludes with some reflections on his methodology. This collection celebrates an outstanding body of work and provides a fascinating insight into the criminal mind and experience. It will be compelling reading not only for those studying criminology, probation or prison studies, but also for the interested general reader.

Editor's Preface Foreword Inadequates Villainy: A Way of Life Some Answers to a Question Nonces, Frauds and False Pretence Merchants At Death's Door Conclusion