Oakland Police Department (CA) (Images of America) [Paperback]

Phil McArdle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2007

The California legislature granted a charter to the new community of Oakland in 1862, and a year later, the town council appointed three peace officers. When it was a dusty Western town, Oakland's major business was raising cattle to feed San Franciscans and the gold miners north of Sacramento. Year by year, as Oakland grew in size and population, the police department grew with it. The Oakland Police Department pioneered the use of call boxes, police cars, and other technical innovations. It has served the city well through good times and bad, wars, fires, and earthquakes. A large, diverse organization serving a complex multicultural city, the Oakland Police Department today accepts the challenges of policing in the 21st century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Phil McArdle was the Oakland Police Department's technical writer for 20 years and previously wrote a history of the police department that was published internally. He was the principal editor of Exactly Opposite the Golden Gate, a history of Berkeley, and his writing as appeared in the Baltimore Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Berkeley Daily Planet, and numerous other publications. McArdle and his wife, Karen, collaborated on Fatal Fascination, a study of police work in the East Bay and elsewhere. The vintage photographs in this extraordinary compendium were culled primarily from the Oakland Police Department, the Oakland History Room of the Oakland Public Library, and the author's personal collection.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (May 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738547263
• ISBN-13: 978-0738547268
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,043,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detroit's Gem, July 10, 2007

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne (MI) (Images of America) (Paperback)

Thank you authors, James Conway and David Jamroz, for putting together a wonderful book on a jewel in Detroit's history. Historic Fort Wayne was built in the early 1840's and saw troops going off to fight, from the Civil War in the 1860's through VietNam in the 1960's and all the wars in between. This book highlights the very beginnings of the fort's history (even before - a bit on the founding of Detroit starts the book off) and, through hundreds of photographs, moves us right up to the 21st century where this gem is now (very slowly - much too slowly) being restored.
My favorite pictures are from the Civil War - but there are quite a few from all the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. And there is even a chapter on its restoration.
Detroit has a history of forgetting its history. I cannot tell you how many historic structures were torn down for one inane reason or another. In fact, it's still happening to this very day - plans to tear down the beautiful and classic structure of Tiger Stadium - built in 1912 - are being discussed as I write this.
But, that's the way Detroit is.
Unfortunately, Detroit has all but ignored Historic Fort Wayne (oh, the powers that be will throw a few pennies toward restoration here and there, but hardly enough to justify any acclamations). It's the Detroit Historical Society that is doing the real restoration work by having Civil War reenactors have mock battles and the such in order to raise money. Maybe some of the city fathers can give a little of their own cash (are you listening Mr. Illitch?) and bring this gem to where it should be. Folks, Historic Fort Wayne is a true ORIGINAL historical fort that just happens to be one of the few remaining structures Detroit has from the first half of the 19th century.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fort Wayne, Detroit Deserves Better, February 19, 2010

By 

the History Guy (Ann Arbor) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne (MI) (Images of America) (Paperback)

"Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne" is a great picture book, but it cannot and should not be taken as a serious historical work. While the building descriptions and physical facts (acreage, wall height, fort trace, etc.) seem to be fairly accurate, the authors' exploration of Fort Wayne's intangible past is severely limited and leaves much to be desired. The authors rely on dangerously thin research and provide inadequate substantiation for their work, despite their claims of having used a multitude of source material. After reading the book, it is difficult to understand how two historians failed so thoroughly at such a simple task -- writing picture captions.

In all fairness to the authors, who undoubtedly have some affection for Fort Wayne, their book spotlights the fort and demonstrates a good faith effort. Good intentions, however, are not grounds for a good review. "Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne" presents an excellent collection of photographs, but it is rife with shallow analysis and shoddy history. It is an absolute and unmitigated shame that this book is the only "history" of Fort Wayne, Detroit widely available to the public.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right subject but WRONG city!, January 24, 2008

By 

Thomas Kenton (Lincoln, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oakland Police Department (CA) (Images of America) (Paperback)

I ordered the book, but your review is not for Oakland California!
Your review is for Oakland County, Michigan!
Please correct.