Customer Reviews

Cops

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a brand new police officer. Actually I don't even take my oath until later in October. This book is an excellent read, but I also feel like it's somewhat dated. Most of the interviews were conducted in 1983 and 1984. There's a whole new generation of police officer out there now. Attitudes have changed, training has changed, and I suppose society has changed somewhat. When I first read this book back in 1986 my father was still a cop with six years to go before he retired. At the time the book was dead on. Now, though it is still truthful in spirit, I feel like cops have chnged in many respects. It would be nice to see an update. I would also like Mr. Baker to go farther out into this country of ours and speak to cops in the Western U.S., the South and so on. I get the definite impression that many of his interviews were conducted with NYPD officers and Long Island cops. Contrary to what some may think law enforcement is different in various parts of the nation, just like attitudes and beliefs are different in our many regions. It's still a very good book. Don't let my quibbles discourage you from reading it.

Being a police officer I made my wife read this book before we were married. It gives anyone a look into the difficult world of police work. Anyone who has ever critizied, praised or wondered about the life of a police officer should take the time to read this book. I would like to see Mark Baker work on a second book exposing this next generation of police officers.

I read this book years ago and I still find myself reccommending it to peers and relating some of the stories I've read. We have a lot of friends of the family who are cops, and they all agree that this book tells it like it is.

I read Baker's "Nam: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There" and loved it. And "Cops" didn't disappoint either. I first read it a number of years ago and have recommended it highly ever since. It's a fantastic book, much more comprehensive than Connie Fletcher's "competing" (but still good) book, "What Cops Know." As you might expect, the stories run the gamut from heartbreakingly sad to laugh-out-loud hilarious. Every serious student of law enforcement should read this book. I think I'm up to three full readings.

Other cop books I recommend: "Close Pursuit" by Carsten Stroud and "Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year" by William Dunn.

This is a book about cops, for cops, and by cops. The author has done an excellent job of organizing their stories about what it means be a member of the blue team. There are over a hundred such accounts compiled, and each one has a ring of authenticity, colored by a layer of humor and cynicism that goes often goes with the territoty. The often raw and gritty language, coupled with their vividly described experiences, gives the reader a birdseye view of the underbelly of the beast.

The only problem with the book is that policing has undergone a substantial change in the past several years, which is, of course, not reflected in this book, as it was published in 1985. Read in that context, the book is somewhat anachronistic. Still, it is one that will be enjoyed by those with a penchant for police war stories. If you are an avid cop buff, add one star to my rating.

Whether you love cops, hate them or just want to understand them a little better - this is the book to get. I'm not a cop. But like most, I've known cops, been rudely stopped by cops and been helped by cops. This is their story. Yes, the interviews were in the mid-80's - but while techology has changed, even the training probably - the situations, the stresses and the core of who these guys are is as good as the day they told their stories.

For the most part, I've always felt a bit of admiration and a bit sorry for these folks whose job is to protect and serve - who generally see people only when they are at worst and only rarely get a person who is just delighted to see them. This book reminds you of the horror and the black humor they often use to face it. It's like being a fly at a cops bar, listening to them tell their true tales - even the older tales still tell you who they are.

When you get tired of watching cop shows - and want to know what it's really like - I'd read this. For a different spin on the reality of Detectives versus street cops, I'd also recommend Cop Talk: True Detective Stories from the Nypd- especially good if you're a Law and Order fan.

It's true. Cop work has changed in the last few years. The ranks are now filled with pussies. But this book reflects how police work used to be.

The vignettes are well-written and interesting and how-it-was.

This book is filled with short stories of cops in their own words. No censorship: From the cold description of an impaled baby on a tree on the scene of a terrible car accident to a blown up drug addict body in a bloody appartment. I almost vomited on my way to work when I read it two years ago on the city bus. So be sure to be prepared for horrible descriptions, lots of action and a superb inside view of the psychological aspect of the policemen/women. But remember that the tales are mostly taking part in the early 1980s. Every chapter starts with the author's take on a selected aspect of the police work. Are you ready for Atari-boy-killer, incredible housecalls, drugs, alcohol, sex and corruption? Then this book is for you. Very easy reading because each story is clearly divided by little stars. A must for police-related readers.

This book gets a message accross very well through stories of real people in law enforcement. It will be well worth reading 50 years from now. I recommend it.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "Managing Police Stress" docwifford@msn.com

The author has taken us to a place that we have looked at as outsiders. After reading this book I finally have a glimmer of understanding of what police officers see everyday risking their lives. You can no longer look at an officer of the law as just a "uniform, badge and a gun" they are men and women with families like the rest of us.