historical introduction of earlier editions, a basic manual of military small arms arranged in order of country forming the latter part. The manual follows the trend in earlier editions of grafting information on new weapons onto existing chapters. I t is disappointing that this format has not undergone any great revision and as a result some recently developed weapons are dealt with in a sketchy manner.

When all points are considered and comparisons drawn however, it must be said that Small Arms of the World is still the firearms expert's bible.

MICHAEL HAROLD

WHO IS SPEAKING ?

Voice Identification: Theory and Legal Applications Oscar Tosi (University Park Press, Baltimore, 1979; 176pp., Index, £11.95)

This book written by Professor Tosi of the Institute of Voice Identification, Michigan State University, is a comprehensive review of the theories and methods of voice identification. I t covers speech science and all methods of voice identification including that wrongly described as "voiceprint". The author describes the "aural and spectrographic examination of speech samples" and points to its value for voice identification as well as its limitations.

There is a full citation of the eighty or more American court cases in which voice identification evidence has been considered, and of the nine State and Federal appeals. Though there have only been the tentative beginnings of the use of voice identification procedures in British courts there is no doubt that sooner or later these will come and will have to be evaluated.

The book is confessedly directed to a wide audience. I t provides therefore an exposition of the subject which would serve as introduction to the forward- looking police officer, lawyer or scientist taking up the study.

I- n

THE SECRET OF BATHPOOL PARK

The Capture of the Black Panther Barry Hawkes (Harrap, London, 1978, 268pp., Index, £5.95)

The vast police search for Donald Neilson, the hooded gunman who terrorised sub-postmasters throughout the Midlands and North of England in the nineteen-seventies was said to be the most comprehensive ever undertaken. For this reason alone an account by an experienced journalist and crime reporter must make interesting reading. The police successes and mistakes in covering the case are discussed against the background of a full description of the five murders, the kidnapping of Lesley Whittle, victim of the fifth, and the murderer's detailed and graphic confession in court. Forensic science contri- buted its share mainly of ballistic evidence, and the contribution of the Regional Crime Squads is assessed, but the final capture of this most wanted man fell to two village policemen. The exceptional planning ability of the accused and the report of the psychiatrist who spent many hours discussing these matters with Neilson in prison make this a fascinating medico-legal study.

Neilson's case is bound to attract much further investigation. In the mean- time this casebook provides a valuable account of what must be reckoned as one of the causes cklhbres of the century.

T.D