Chains of Command [Hardcover]

William J. Caunitz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc (2000)
• ASIN: B0015E7P0S
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,173,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in San Francisco, California, Christopher Newman was educated in Bay Area Catholic schools, the University of California at Santa Cruz and Birmingham University, England. He traveled overland from Europe across the Asian subcontinent to Singapore alone in his late teens. Before he was 21 he'd worked for a year aboard a tanker plying trade between the Persian Gulf and ports around the Pacific rim. He wrote the first draft of his third published novel, Manana Man, while in residence in Cali, Colombia his senior year in college. At 27, he moved to New York City, working as a trim carpenter for five years in Manhattan before publishing his first Joe Dante novel, Midtown South, in 1985. When that title met with considerable commercial success, his publisher convinced him to turn his protagonist into a series character. Eight more Joe Dante novels followed, all making various national best seller lists. Midtown North, published in 1991, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Chains of Command, left unfinished at the time of best-selling author William Caunitz' death in 1998, was completed by Mr. Newman at the estate's request. It was named a 1999 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Mr. Newman left New York in 2002 and returned to Santa Cruz, where he currently works as a pioneer in the world of aquaponic fish farming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caunitz has Improved with Age...and Death!, October 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Chains of Command : Completed by Christopher Newman (Hardcover)

I have read all of Caunitz's other books, however I thought that I read his last with Pigtown. Sometimes publisher's print questionable efforts after an author's death just because they can get away with it. Chains of Command is one of Caunitz's best books.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Of The Big City Police Thrillers, April 27, 2002

By 

Joseph L Burke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chains of Command : Completed by Christopher Newman (Hardcover)

The bad news here is that the author died while working on this book and it was skillfully completed by Christopher Newman. Nevertheless it snaps and crackles with the dialogue and insider information that only Caunitz (a 30-year cop) could provide. You can read all of the police novels you want but you will NEVER find an author that gives you as much of the inside scoop on police work, language, and character. His plots are fascinating, his characters different yet utterly believable, and his mastery of giving a lot of information in a few words is unmatched. Caunitz was, quite simply, the best of them all at this kind of a novel. Rest In Peace, William J. Caunitz...I'll be re-reading your books from time to time until (hopefully) we meet in the beyond.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best but still worhtwhile, November 16, 2000

By 

C. Upthegrove (Marin County, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chains of Command (Paperback)

Read this book quickly or you might lose track of the plot. It is a bit confusing and maybe not all that believable. I've really enjoyed Caunitz's other books. I don't know how much of this was finished before he died and I'm not a reader of Newman but it is not quite up to One Police Plaza, Black Sand and Pigtown. If you like NYPD books though it's well worth the price of a paperback.