Customer Reviews

Skid Row Beat

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I loved this book and so has everyone I have lent it to. I laughed, was moved and disgusted all in the same story. It's an incredible revelation of the human condition. The anecdotes, which range from one to four pages long, chronicle events from the 70's and 80's, as well as a few recent incidents, in an area one officer in the book called, "A place forgotten by God."

Policing was indeed different back then, and if you've been around long enough, this curb side look at skid row will have you laughing and saying to yourself, "Oh yea, I remember that." Like any good story teller, Christensen has woven some tales together and modified some he could not other wise have told.

While Loren lived most of these stories, other officers contributed a few. Some of the anecdotes are so disgusting that you will have to put the book down, though a short time later you will want to pick it up and resume where you left off. There are four chapters: Characters, Sex, Violence and Bodily Excretions, and Loren says there are several stories that could have fit into all of them. He says that Skid Row Beat is not for the easily offended, the overly politically correct, or those who view community policing as a religious experience. The tales run the gamut from absolutely hilarious, to stomach-turning gross, to poignant. One story will offend, another will move you, and another you will retell to your friends. Skid Row Beat is a quick read and I suspect more than one copy will find its way into the "library" next to the porcelain throne where one can read a story or two, put the book down and pick it up the next time you are making a visit.

This book reflects a time before "politically correct" was even a thought, much less a phrase. Times were different, and after reading the book you can only reflect that we have come a long way since the days when it was still a crime to be drunk in public, and the beat cop was expected to "take care of business" on his district. Many of the skid row beat cops were street monsters who were tough as nails on the outside, but with hearts bigger than all of outdoors.

Reading the stories in SKID ROW BEAT is like eating potato chips: you can't stop after just one. I was moved emotionally, sickened and then forced to laugh out loud. Read this book. It's a winner

A two word phrase can sum up my opinion of Loren Christensen's book, Reality Check. This book's look at what life is like on skid row is an in your face description of what some people have to go through each and every day. At times I found myself laughing out loud, and others weeping out loud, all with the realization that this was not fiction, it was truth. In Christensen's classic literary genius, he was able to not only capture my attention and mind, but my heart as well.