Sir Leon Radzinowicz is one of the leading figures in the development of criminology in the twentieth century, working as an academic criminologist, an adviser to governments and as the founding Director of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge. This account intertwines Sir Leon’s personal narrative as a criminologist with the development of criminology itself. Drawing on his long career spanning seventy years, from the 1920s to the present day, he writes about fundamental changes which have affected our understanding of crime and criminals, of criminal justice and penal systems, and of the tensions and dilemmas these pose for democratic societies. He offers a unique perspective on the intellectual and institutional history of criminology within a wide comparative perspective