Customer Reviews

Blue Blood

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

When I heard that author Edward Conlon still serves in the NYPD, I was skeptical about whether he was really free to publish a truly candid account of life inside one of the nation's largest police departments. Yet, Detective Conlon does just that and more in a remarkably frank, funny, thoughtful and brilliantly written memoir.

Blue Blood stands out primarily because of Detective Conlon's sharp wit and humor. His vivid descriptions of the characters, customs and encounters that dominate a street cop's life had me laughing out loud. Likewise, his wry observations and amusing insights into the absurd aspects of NYPD bureaucracy (i.e., the petty bosses, the pervasive internal politics, the inane departmental regulations, etc.) made for entertaining fodder. In fact, Conlon's colorful writing and artful phrasing so impressed me that after finishing the CD/audio version of Blue Blood, I bought the paperback just so that I could re-read and highlight the exceptional prose.

Blue Blood also takes an absorbing, unvarnished look at the serious side of urban crime fighting including the tragic conditions that police routinely encounter, the ever-present dangers that confront officers in the line of duty, the devastating mistakes that can sometimes occur in high crime environments, and the flawed criminal justice procedures that too often fail to keep "perps" off the streets. What proves most interesting about this book, however, is that even in the face of such trials and frustrations, there is no sense of bitterness or defeat. Instead, Blue Blood paints an encouraging picture of policing. And in Conlon, you definitely see a good man who thoroughly believes in "the Job" and who relishes in carrying out his calling as a cop.

I absolutely loved Blue Blood. The book is lengthy (559 pages), but it is well worth the time. I highly recommend this amazing work.

Like the reviewer above, I am a NYC police officer too, and I thought this book was pretty fair. It gives you one picture of what it is like to work our job in our city, but there is so much more left to say. The world of drug enforcement is probably one of the most common topics in all of policing these days, and Detective Conlon's time in Housing was predominantly about this, so other aspects of policing are left out. But there is only so much one man can do... I think the book is at its best when it tells the reader what many cops truly feel about things that have been in the news, such as the Diallo and Louima incidents. It gives the public a new insight into the cop's mind. The book is a little long, and I think that's because it might try to cover too much. There are 47,000 cops in NYC and 8,000,000 residents, so it is impossible to ever give a full picture of the story of policing the city. Still, if I were a civilian interested in learning about one perspective of urban policing, I would read this book.

For three years I have looked forward to the release of this book (since his writings were published in The New Yorker) and am certainly not disappointed. Edward Conlon conveys a unique insight into a job that few people truly understand. The media paints one picture of the police while TV shows portray another. Neither is accurate. Conlon's writing lets the readers into a world that is much more complex than a newspaper article or television caricature can ever grasp. If you want to know what it is like to be an NYPD cop (I know b/c I am one) this is the book for you.

Bravo to Detective Conlon. This is an honest book and beautifully written. Those that are expecting a typical cop book or your run of the mill true crime, will be disappointed and perhaps those are the folks giving the negative reviews. This book is written like prose and is gorgeous to read. It's not a fast read, but rather meant to be digested and paid attention to. I look forward to seeing what Conlon writes next.

This book could've used a better editor to give it some better streamlining and more narrative focus, its a bit disorganized and ill-constructed, but overall I was not disappointed. This is the memoir of a truly admirable human being, Edward Conlon, and his life as a law enforcement officer and detective in New York. Many interesting accounts of things he encountered on the job, including his work with the 9/11 Twin Towers wreckage site. Reading this book has made me appreciate all that cops do for us in a tough job that is often unfairly criticized and under-rewarded.

Some of the other reviews I've read have missed the point of this book. You shouldn't focus on Conlon's Harvard education which even he downplays throughout the book. Conlon's literary skill and intellect should be appreciated for his talent as a story teller. Other readers suggest an expectation of an Ivy League critique of the policies and procedures of the NYPD, that's not the point of this book. This book is a story of history, legacy, introspect and reality. This book is about "book smart" meets "street smart". Conlon has accomplished something few others can in any other profession - to write a book about the job while on the job. Colon makes it clear early in the book, he's not Frank Serpico and he doesn't have the "inside" or dirt on the NYPD and it isn't his intent to tarnish the badge. Colon tells his story in the chronological order of his carrer with retrospect to his experiences that formed his character. It's a book any cop can understand, appreciate and relate to which is why some readers may not get. Joseph Wambaugh who wrote the Onion Field endorsed Conlon's tallent on the jacket of the book. If you've never heard of the Onion Field or know who Wambaugh is you probably won't understand Blue Blood.

Blue Blood by Edward Conlon really tried my patience.

The book is at least 100 pages too long, and much of the surplusage comes early on. You will learn about every one of Conlon's relatives who became a cop, about movies like The French Connection, Serpico, and the Godfather, and even about forgotten patriot Gouverneur Morris -- and his brother!! Yep, Conlon definitely stayed awake while at Harvard. The man is a walking, talking raconteur and spewer of information.

Yet, there is a very good book in here. The stories about Conlon's police work might strike some as repetitive, but what the police do IS repetitive. If they are on the drugs beat, for example, they don't investigate bank robberies. They deal with drugs, day in and day out. So I think he paints an honest picture of police work.

Plus, many of his stories are downright hilarious.

So, hang in through the early sections, don't be too annoyed by the avalanche of acronyms, and overall you'll enjoy the book.

The author is a Harvard-educated NYPD cop, son of an FBI agent, writing his memoirs seven years into his career on the force. Over the course of the book's 560 pages, he begins in Housing (drug busts in the projects), works with Narcotics, gets a feel for the midnight shift, sifts though the awful wreckage of 9/11 on Fresh Kills, and finally becomes a detective. Every so often, he interrupts his own story to tell some other facet of police or New York life, such as that of the real Serpico or the tale of the French Connection, stories of crooked and heroic cops and politicos of the past, the Black Panther cop-murder spree, and so forth. It's a very interesting book, with plenty of very funny bits (his descriptions of and banter with informants provide much humor) as well as food for thought. Certainly, though, it's no masterpiece. For someone who clearly bristles when talked to about police corruption, Conlon breezes over Abner Louima, and takes a very Blue Wall-ish view of the Amadou Diallo case. The book is also overlong; it could use some editing, especially given that there are no spectacular cases here (lots of gritty interrogation and stakeout stuff, but it is everyday police work). On the whole, though, the great writing, the eye for a relevant story, Conlon's intense devotion to the NYPD, and a real flair for characterization make this a memoir worth reading through.

I looked forward to reading this book, expecting it to be an insight into the life of an NYPD officer. Well, it's that and much more. Too much more. I was expecting something along the lines of "Report From Engine Company 82" or "Population 485", both great, readable books. Instead we get the (lengthy) autobiography of Edward Conlon, the history of the NYPD, the history of his relatives in the NYPD, the Serpico case, the Knapp Commission, etc etc etc. About halfway through, I started skimming sections, and after doing that for a while, realized how wasteful it was, and gave up. He details almost identical events over and over, gives way too many details about the people, the routine, the bosses, the forms they fill out, and everything else. I think he is trying to follow in the footsteps of many recent memoir and history writers, who contrast a contemporary story with historical background, a la "The Orchid Thief". But there's too much history. And too much contemporary detail. Too much everything.

I don't want to completely dismiss the book, he is a good storyteller - some of the anecdotes about his fellow officers and the "perps" made me laugh out loud. I certainly got a good feel for the urban wastelands of the Bronx in which he worked. He just needed a much better or stronger willed editor to cut a lot of the chaff, hopefully he'll have one for his next book.

BLUE BLOOD is an absorbing first-person account of Edward Conlon's time in the NYPD that takes us far beyond "Third Watch" and "NYPD Blue." Conlon touches on the family roots and influences that impelled him to become a policeman after graduating from Harvard -- the uncles and cousins in "the Job," and particularly his father, a career FBI agent -- and on embarrassing moments in youthful misdemeanor and on the streets of the South Bronx. He describes the banality and abusive stupidity within the NYPD's organization so clearly that one wonders why anyone would put up with it -- even before considering the dismal pay and ever-present hazards that go with the Job. Yet Conlon also has a storyteller's ear and a fine ironic humor, and the moments of byplay with his partners and with perps waiting to cycle through the System had me rolling in laughter.

BLUE BLOOD is a wonderful reprise of the NYPD's recent history. As Conlon describes his passage from probie to the detective's Gold Shield, we also see the larger forces that have forever been a part of the NYPD: the at-times stupefying bureaucracy; the pettiness and incoherence of too many bosses -- and the redemptive satisfaction of working for a good one; the insularity of police officers from the community they serve (and why this is); the always at-hand doorways to corruption. We get the Real Deal behind the French Connection, an alternate (but not unsympathetic) take on Frank Serpico, and the damage caused by the Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo cases. While, under the broader auspices of Rudy Giuliani, the NYPD cut New York City's previously horrendous rates of violent crime through tough street enforcement, similar anti-narcotics operations seem hopelessly swamped by both the volume of drugs on the street and the obtuseness of grand juries and prosecutors.

Other reviewers have complained about the size and density of BLUE BLOOD. It is dense -- I skimmed some pages myself, and the book is not a strict chronological account -- but it is neither mindless nor gratuitous. As a native New Yorker with heartstrings still in the Big City, perhaps I had a nostalgic interest in Conlon's story. In any case, I was rewarded. It's clear that, despite all, Edward Conlon likes being a cop and is good at it. He is not alone, and the good citizens of New York had best be thankful for him and his fellow officers.