The former Superintendent, of the Fingerprint Bureau of New Scotland Yard reviews his life in terms of the cases which crossed his microscope and brings with it much of the deliberate dedication with which he served for forty years. A childhood fascination for and experimentation with (his own) fingerprints headed him directly towards his career in the Yard- and he draws from his case book there for the outstanding dramas of detection in which he participated; that of Arthur Hazel, a resourceful rogue and raffles who figured in countless robberies; that of Hobday, who murdered for 14 shillings; that of Trevor, who spent 42 years in prison- save for 48 weeks- and was eloquent in his self defense on the charge of the murder of an aging window; etc. etc. Methods of operation and identification; the introduction of palm prints as conclusive evidence; the times where fingerprints have proved innocence as well as guilt -- all this is part of a life spent in the cautious scrutiny of telltale evidence as whirls and swords combine to provide an irrefutable witness....For the market which enjoyed Douglas Browne and Alan Brock's Fingerprints (Dutton), possibly a second take.