Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 I first wrote about the peaky blinders in 1986 in my doctoral thesis on the Ladypool Road neighborhood of Sparkbrook. In 1987, I began researching for my second book, a social history of illegal bookmaking.#2 A book of this size could not have been published without the support and expertise of a talented team. I would like to thank the following people for their contributions: Mike Gibbs, Publishing Director at History West Midlands, for his enthusiasm and commitment to the history of Birmingham and the Black Country; and Bonnier Books UK, for their input, enthusiasm, and support.#3 The BBC2 series Peaky Blinders, which was set in 1919, grabbed a riveted audience from its first scene. It tells the story of a feared and dangerous gang called the Peaky Blinders that rules the Small Heath district of Birmingham.#4 The Peaky Blinders series is an international sensation, and it has been praised by many critics. But the real characters, events, and places drawn from historical obscurity by the show were not glamorous gangsters, but back-street thugs.