Books by James Morton

From former Great British Bake Off finalist and author of Brilliant Bread, James Morton, the no-nonsense guide to making and baking perfect sourdough bread

The no-nonsense guide to making your favourite beer at home

I want to show you how baking works. You don't even need a sieve. And for baking veterans, this book tells you why you're doing what you've been doing all these years. Here's to baking that just works.

The East End has always held a malign fascination for the general public. In this book James Morton looks at this phenomenon from the days of the unsolved murders committed by Jack the Ripper to the 1960s when the Kray Twins held the reins of the Underworld, to the present and how the structure of crimes and criminal gangs has changed. EAST END GANGLAND looks not only at the Twins but also at the influx of immigrant gangs of the 1900s, the powerful Chinese drug dealers of the 1920s, the racecourse gangs, the men who ran crime on the docks, and organised prostitution throughout the century to the major drug dealers of today.

FOR THE FIRST AND FINAL TIME - THE DEFINITIVE LOWDOWN ON THE KRAYS' LIFE STORY. Britain's most notorious gangsters: the Kray twins. The extent of their criminal activities has always been uncertain. But now, it is time for the conclusive account of their story, from their East End beginnings, to becoming the kingpins of London's underworld.

Sport has always attracted organised crime. Huge sums of money are wagered in every arena, and rorts, swindles and unsporting behaviour have shadowed players of all codes. James Morton and Susanna Lobez investigate the cheating underbelly of sport, from the first cricket pitch invasion in the 1890s through to the contemporary scandals.

In the form of a collection of street maps, an episodic history of diverse stories, some lost, forgotten or hidden within one of the great cities of the world.

An incisive examination by the bestselling author of The Mammoth Book of Gangs of some of the many miscarriages of justice of this and the previous century, which have seen innocent men and women found guilty, and sometimes executed. This shocking 'manual of injustice' exposes wrongful convictions and acquittals as a result of the chicanery of some forensic scientists, over-zealous or negligent police officers under pressure to get results, incompetent lawyers, lying witnesses, bribed juries, judicial blunders and feeble politicians. Sometimes, however, it is truculent and uncooperative defendants who prove their own worst enemies. It shows the mistakes that can be made in the face of a baying public and a rabid press, mistakes which have seen innocent men and women found guilty, and sometimes executed, while others have served lengthy sentences. It reveals critical flaws in criminal justice systems throughout the world (it is estimated, for example, that two per cent of felony cases in America result in wrongful convictions). Morton explores folk devils and moral panics, both historical such as the 'witches' of Salem and and much more recent cases like that of the West Memphis Three. It considers cases of race hatred, the impact of DNA, fit-ups, fake 'experts', doubtful science and the long road to the court of appeal. He also looks at what happens to the victims of miscarriages of justice, whether they go on to prosper or, as is sadly so often the case, never really recover. How did the boxer Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter come to be wrongly convicted of a triple homicide? The alibi of Joe Hill, the Industrial Workers of the World activist wrongly executed for the murder of a Utah grocer and his son, came too late to save him from execution. On the other hand, Lindy Chamberlain (famously portrayed by Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark), has finally, over thirty years after the fact, had her claim that her baby Azaria was taken by a dingo at Ayers Rock in the Australian Outback upheld by a coroner. Among many other cases, Morton also considers the 1910 case of two men convicted of the murder of a man still alive in 1926, and case of the West Memphis Three, who were convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the murders of three boys in Arkansas and released in 2011 in a plea bargain after eighteen years, though the prosecution still refuses to accept their innocence.

A fresh, new look at gangs in every part of the world which deliberately avoids the stories that have been done to death - about Capone, Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde - and focuses on less well-known gangs such as 'Ma' Barker's Boys; the Smaldones of Denver; Scotland Yard's 1960s' Flying Squad, the so-called Firm within a Firm; Dr Death, the Melbourne drug dealer and Andre Stander, the former South African police officer who led a gang of bank robbers before being shot dead in Fort Lauderdale having fled a 17-year sentence.

Eugene Vidocq was the Morse, the Guv'nor, the James Bond of his day. A notorious criminal and prison escaper, he turned police officer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. Now, James Morton takes us on a historical romp through the 18th century in search of this elusive figure. Today Vidocq's influence can still be seen as members of The Vidocq Society, an unusual, exclusive crime-solving organization honor him by applying their collective forensic skills and experience to 'cold case' homicides and unsolved deaths.

Contains over 2,500 linguistic gems: Ghosting - the practice of transferring a troublesome prisoner to another establishment during the night without warning; Hobbit - a prisoner who complies with or sucks up to the system; Put on armour - layer oneself with magazines to deflect knife wounds in a prison fight; Hooch - 'illicit liquor'; and, more.

While many lawyers are honest, for Gangland figures, the best lawyer is often corrupt a shyster who will act as a go between with the police, provide false alibis, bribe and intimidate witnesses, jurors and judges and occasionally organise robberies and burglaries. Sometimes these lawyers even kill or may be killed themselves.Gangland: The Lawyers brings us such lawyers as Frank Ragan, who acted for three mob leaders, and James Sawyer, the barrister and forger involved in the first Great train Robbery. From the amazing story of Gambino crime boss John Gotti (the Teflon Don ) and his attorney Bruce Cutler, to the American judge Joseph Peel, who had his co-judge killed, James Morton presents a worldwide history of these shady individuals and their seedy but compelling stories.

Behind the fashionable bars and clubs of Soho lies a fascinating history of criminal activity, featuring some of London's most notorious gangsters. From the razor gangs of the 1920s to the post-war gangleaders Billy Hill and Jack Spot; from the pre-war French pimps and the Messina brothers to the Albanian gangs, through to the thriving Soho of today, the area has been a Mecca for thieves, conmen, drug dealers, notorious pimps and crooked lawyers. James Morton vividly portrays the crimes and criminals that have given Soho its infamous reputation, including the vicious Kray-Richardson gang, a Second World War Jack the Ripper, the shooting in the streets of Soho of gangster Jack Spot and the gangland murder of boxer Freddie Mills. Behind the fashionable bars and clubs of Soho lies a fascinating history of criminal activity, featuring some of London's most notorious gangsters.From the razor gangs of the 1920s to the post-war gangleaders Billy Hill and Jack Spot; from the pre-war French pimps and the Messina brothers to the Albanian gangs, through to the thriving Soho of today, the area has been a Mecca for thieves, conmen, drug dealers, notorious pimps and crooked lawyers. James Morton vividly portrays the crimes and criminals that have given Soho its infamous reputation, including: The vicious Kray-Richardson gang A Second World War Jack the Ripper The shooting in the streets of Soho of gangster Jack Spot The gangland murder of boxer Freddie Mills.

* A look at gangland killing - and contract killers in particular - worldwide by the author of the successful GANGLAND series.

* Immaculately researched book about Freddie Mills and Randolph Turpin - two boxers who died somewhat mysteriously in the 60s - and the story of boxing and society in the years before and after WWII.