Reviews and Awards
"The questions with which Beckingham engages, such as that of the tension between individual freedom on the one hand and the perceived need for restriction on the other, or of the response which civic authorities made to the problems thrown up by the growth of cities, are challenging ones. Nonetheless, they are subjects with which he deals in a readable way and a non-specialist reader is guided through developments clearly. This book is warmly recommended." --Paul Jennings, The Local Historian
'This massively documented book is more than a local history of drink ... Beckingham disposes of several myths (for instance, that the impoverished Irish were responsible for most of the drinking) and explains the limitations of the police statistics that shape elite opinion ... Recommended.' -- D. M. Fahey, CHOICE
'In The Licensed City, David Beckingham explores the municipal licensing of drinking establishments in the 19th Century British city of Liverpool to bring a fascinating, nuanced perspective on urban historical and political geography - the book is meticulously researched and referenced. An impressive range of local and national archives is used. The amount of material synthesized for this historiography is truly impressive. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page to make more lateral and non-linear reading of the text easy. This research is the culmination of many years of meticulous, thoughtful and intrepid scholarship. ... an excellent book.' -- Michael Brown, Social and Cultural Geography