Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye [Hardcover]

Josiah Thompson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Why would a philosophy professor at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, married with two dependent children, give up a tenured post paying an estimated $75 an hour to become a San Francisco private eyeapprentice op, in the lingoat $10 an hour? Perhaps for the "voyeur's rush" he feels on surveillance jobs? Readers, for their part, will experience little of that high as Thompson relates the "hugger-mugger stuff" (his wife's phrase) of his work during 1978-88: a palimony suit involving a gay podiatrist, murder in Chinatown, domestic-estrangement capers, a trip to India on a child-custody case. With nods to Kierkegaard's "despair of finitude" and to the "detectivery and shadowy" ideal of "St. Dashiell" (Hammett), he shows us a philosopher "dicking around as a detective" and becoming so pleased with himself that he makes his new career permanent. Readers can only wonder at his misreading of Soren and Dash.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

While on a sabbatical, Thompson, Haverford College professor of philosophy, took a job as a private investigator in the San Francisco area. In this book, he narrates his experiences on several cases, during which he confronted himself and his concept of morality. He tells of auto repossession, murder, child snatching in India, and recovering $30,000 for an accused drug smuggler. Occasionally philosophical, at times introspective, Thompson uses Dashiell Hammett's fictional Sam Spade as his measure. Lack of continuity and suspense tarnish what could have been a fascinating firsthand account. Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (June 30, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316841757
• ISBN-13: 978-0316841757
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,171,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll want to be a private eye!, January 19, 2009

By 

D. F. Curran "dfcurran" (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye (Mass Market Paperback)

Imagine the talents of the late John Gardner, The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers and Brad Solomon THE OPEN SHADOW By BRAD SOLOMON 1978 FIRST EDITION combined and you'll get just a hint of the style of Josiah Thompson. This is non-fiction excellence. Although this is a true story, I've had this image of Michael Z. Lewin's--Albert Samson The Silent Salesman a Novel of Suspense in my head since reading it for the first time many years ago.

Josiah is a philosopher, and as such his style is to take in great deal of detail in the telling. Martin Heidegger's reference to a 'world worlding' comes to mind. And by that I don't mean that this is so intellectual that it will lose readers, but that it so rich that the world herein surely comes alive. So much so that even more sophisticated readers may in fact be seduced into wanting to try the adventure that Thompson took a sabbatical to try.

This is an adventure on a par with Fatu-Hiva Back to Nature. If you ever even thought you might like to try the life of a private detective this is the book to read. And based on the number of internet schools advertising careers as a 'Private Detective' I think this superior book can expect new readership.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, a real account of a private eye, January 14, 2000

By 

"rjgrib" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye (Mass Market Paperback)

A very interesting and informative read about one of the most misunderstood professions ever. Thompson takes us through some typical days of a modern private detective and soon we realize the old stereotype of a seedy office, bottle of bourbon, fast fists, and a Colt .45 belongs strictly in a '40's detective movie. Thompson points out that the computer is the "weapon" of choice now and it is the staple of the profession. Information gathering is what a detective is paid for and by networking with other computer users and agencies they carve out a living. If you want glamour and excitement, watch an old Bogie black and white. But if you want a true and factual account of what a private eye does and how they work then read this.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Philosophy of a Private Investigator, March 19, 2007

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye (Mass Market Paperback)

Josiah Thompson taught philosophy at Yale and Haverford. Unhappy, he turned to a new career as a private investigator in San Francisco. The `Prologue' tells of his first assignment in shadowing some union leaders during a strike. Somebody had damaged equipment of a cable company, so the leaders were followed. There is a typical divorce case. A rich man's younger wife is straying, and they want photographs. Then Thompson write of his experiences as a philosophy professor, and his extra-curricular activities (Chapter 2). [That quote by Stimson is taken out of context; an off-the-books operation was shut down (Chapter 3).] Thompson is on a mission that "Sam Spade" never knew. Chapter 4 tells of a business trip to New England. Thompson got valuable information for a client.

Chapter 5 tells of investigating a swindle. Thompson investigated a murder conviction of a wrong man. He located a new witness to the shooting (Chapter 6). This witness had his memory recovered through hypnotism (Chapter 7). The conviction was reversed. [Writing down what was seen at the time is better than delaying testimony.] Chapter 8 explains the action to recover a child from a foreign country. This crossed a moral boundary. The events of the recovery are in Chapter 9. Could astrology affect an operation? Or luck? Chapter 10 concludes this investigation, so different from classic private eye stories.[The `Bay Guardian' named Thompson as the "Best Detective of 1987". Was this some kind of a joke?]