?The first full-length study of one of the most controversial, and most important working-class reformers of late Georgian and early Victorian England. ... Wiener relies most heavily upon contemporary newspapers, pamphlets, and other printed sources. The result is an economical, tightly written narrative biography that expands considerably not only our knowledge of Carlile but also his controversial relationship to early 19th-century British radicalism. It belongs in upper-division and graduate libraries where it should become standard reading for students of radical, working-class politics. They will also be aided in their study of the subject by the thoughtful, up-to-date bibliographical essay with which the volume concludes.?-Choice