H R F KEATING WROTE an excellent short story about Indian fingerprints, 'The Evidence I Shall Give', which seemed to be all one could possibly need to read about this obscure subject until the appearance of this unusual and meticulous scholarly work.

The history of fingerprinting is complicated and even Chandak Sengoopta is unable to name with absolute certainty the man who unlocked its significance. It could have been a scientist in the US Department of Agriculture in 1877, although Sengoopta is inclined to favour an English colonial civil servant, Sir William