By Allan Pinkerton
"I love the narrative...." The Lit Witch book blog
"An excellent and facinating historical read of our nation's first (Private Detective) organization.
The swindlers, bank and train robbers and confidence men came alive in his presentation."
Detective Rich Stanley, Fort Lee Boro P.D., New Jersey.
Thirty Years a Detective presents the history, the craft,
and the stories of many of the criminals
that Allan Pinkerton pursued and captured in his years as a detective.
From chapters on the Society Thief to Forgers;
from the "Boodle" Game to House Breaking
Pinkerton regales and informs the reader of the intricacies of crime
and the deviousness of the criminal mind.
The name Pinkerton is synonymous with "Private Eye,"
due to the famous eye logo and the even more famous motto
"We never sleep,"
as well as the pioneering techniques used by the Pinkertons
in pursuit of their man.
The Pinkerton Agency, one of the nation's oldest detective agencies
and still in business today, was founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton,
a Scottish immigrant who settled in Chicago.
He solved a series of train robberies,
and became the first city detective in Chicago,
where his reputation in the infant field of investigations was solidified.
As Pinkerton notes in his preface to this book,
"In the hope that what I have written may be of service
to my fellow beings in every walk of life, and that the experiences given,
may convince the dishonestly inclined of the utter futility
of the success of criminal actions, this volume is sent forth."
So beware pickpockets and sneaks, confidence men and burglars,
as Allan Pinkerton is on the job and he always gets his man.
About the Author
Allan Pinkerton was born in 1819 in Scotland
and immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-three.
After starting the Pinkerton Detective Agency
he pioneered many crime-fighting techniques including
mug shots, rap sheets, code books, instructions for detectives,
and infiltration, to name but a few.
During the Civil War Pinkerton was the head
of the Union Intelligence Service
and foiled an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln.
He also organized and directed an espionage system
behind Confederate lines.
Pinkerton wrote several books detailing the exploits of his detectives,
but no other book captures the criminal mindset
and the efforts to thwart it
as does Thirty Years A Detective.
