Blue in Black and White (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "You don't understand the significance of raising that hand and swearing an oath...in your head graduation night from the academy is all about finishing..." (more)
Key Phrases: San Francisco

Editorial Reviews

Review

Blue in Black and White is a dramatic new photographic collection, featuring narratives from members of the San Francisco Police Department. --911 Magazine

Blue in Black and White is a dramatic new photographic collection, featuring narratives from members of the San Francisco Police Department. --911 Magazine<br /><br />It is a moving work: the photographs are in many cases superb, and the accompanying text poetic and ennobling, by turns sober, then wry, and again heartbreakingWhat a testament to the police force. --Matt Buff, Bohemian Club of San Francisco<br /><br />The photos capture the mixed emotions most officers feel protecting citizens who also despise them for who they are humanizes the police force for those who have never understood the complexities that go with the job. --Rachel Patton, American Police Beat

Pete's an outstanding photographer and has a published photo-book called Blue in Black and White. It's a really super behind-the-scenes photo essay about life in the San Francisco Police Department. All black and white images, street-gritty, and in your face. And really insightful writing to go along with each photo. If you're a photographer or just curious about what really happens on the street, you should check out his book. --citysnaps.net

Product Description

In his dramatic new book, Blue in Black and White , Sergeant Peter Thoshinsky presents a rare glimpse at life and law enforcement on the streets of San Francisco. Presented in larger-than-life black and white images, Blue in Black and White captures the day in-day out role of policing this great city, and represents the people, places and experiences that the men and women of SFPD encounter daily.


These images bring the viewer into a world most people feel comfortable ignoring, and give insight into the world of cops not often seen by the public. They also demonstrate the pride, dedication and compassion of these everyday heroes...members of SFPD.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: Turner Pub Co; First Printing edition (December 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596520388
• ISBN-13: 978-1596520387
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,156,440 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing policemen on the job from the perspective of a policeman, April 4, 2007

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

One of the most interesting things about loving books is that one never gets to the end of ideas for them. While there are indeed mountains and continents of sameness that can be safely ignored, one should never get blasé because someone will always find some way of surprising you and giving you something fresh to look at. I am not saying that in the history of printing there has never been a book like this one, but it is a very fresh look at something I have not seen.

And what is that? You say that it is just another book of pictures of cops? Well, it is a book of pictures of cops, but there is a big difference. This is a book of pictures of cops TAKEN by a cop. What difference does that make? Because we see the police officers the way a man who knows them and knows their job sees them rather than the way we usually see them depicted on TV and in the movies. We learn which assignments the cops like, which they don't, what some of the problems are, and even the tedium of the job.

Peter Thoshinsky was on the "Tenderloin Task Force" of the San Francisco Police Department. He shows us cops on the job and provides captions that help us appreciate the pictures. Some of the captions are merely informative, some are insightful, some are funny or ironic, and some are touching. And they all enhance the photographs.

I was particularly struck by the caption for "The Good Son"

Cop: "When was the last time you spoke with your father?"
Son: "Well, I call him every Sunday, `ya know, just to make sure he's ok."
Cop" "OK"
Son: ... "and so when he didn't answer the phone on Sunday, I thought something might be wrong".
Cop: "Yeah."
Son: "Yeah, so I come over and I found him dead just like that."
Cop: "So, when you called your dad on Sunday he didn't answer?"
Son: "Right."
Cop: "You must have been worried?"
Son: "Uh-huh."
Cop: "Today is Thursday."
Son: "Uh-huh."

Or the next picture of a female arm with wrist tattoos in handcuffs entitled "Tattoos and Bracelets".

Or: "The first rule of police work, the very first rule. Everyone lies. "I ain't got nothing officer, I swear it". See rule number one.

There are dozens of more like this. Fresh, insightful, and even touching. Not only for the cops (one picture is of an old women in a wheel chair flipping the bird to a cop), but also for the lost souls who are so lost they see the cops as the enemy rather than someone trying to help them (few people see being taken into custody as a help).

Very much worth having and lingering over.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLue in Black and White is Stunning, April 12, 2007

By	Rachel "Aplomb Writing" (East Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

"The truth is most people don't like the police. They need 'em. They just don't like 'em." Peter Thoshinsky examines the delicate and brutal world of the San Francisco Police Department in his book, Blue in Black and White, sharing pictures he has taken over his 25-year tenure as a cop. These stark, graphic images show San Franciscans from all walks of life, fighting, demonstrating, and pleading to be released from their handcuffs, and always close by is the officer who has to deal with the civilian's actions. Each subject is treated with respect, no matter the crime or event shown, and Thoshinsky writes free verse and prose poems next to the shots explaining the unseen or unknown, giving the reader a window into a world few rarely see.

The subject is San Francisco and the boys and girls in blue who walk her streets, but the book transcends location. Market Street, 200 Leavenworth, Broadway, Union Square, North Beach, Candlestick Park, and McAllister Street all make appearances to remind us where the pictures were taken, yet the reader gets a sense that these images are everywhere, in each skid row alley of every great American city, and these are the men and women who risk their lives for their job. Capturing the mixed emotions most officers feel protecting citizens who also despise them for who they are, the book humanizes the police force for those who have never understood the weight that goes with the occupation.

Peter Thoshinsky investigates the realities of homelessness, mental illness, drugs, and cops' use of force with the integrity of someone who is there firsthand, and he wrestles with the truth and justice each officer tries to bring to a workday while trapped under a hot Kevlar vest, badge, radio, belt, and ammunition somewhere below the San Francisco skyline. He tells us that the police remind themselves every day, "That could be your brother, sister. Given a change of fortune, that could have been you." Thoshinsky reserves judgment of the characters he meets on his beats, and instead captures their portrait with a sense of anticipation, the reader left curious what happens next in the scene. Blue in Black and White educates with cop lingo like "B Caper," "Four Boys," and "Hondels" and memorializes fallen officers with a picture and a line or two in their honor.
This pictorial set in San Francisco shows the heart of the city and the people who live in it and protect it. It is accessible and moving for both officer and civilian, honestly examining the lives of the police as they move from the academy to the streets. The reader comes away knowing more about what it means to be in the line of duty performing a job no one wants to give credit for.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving and unforgettable visual tribute, April 10, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Blue in Black and White is a photography book of San Francisco's law enforcement officers, by police sergeant, experienced photographer, and native San Franciscan Peter Thoshinsky. Each two-page spread features a black-and-white, larger-than-life photograph of people keeping the peace on San Francisco's streets on the right, and a brief poem, caption, or insight on the left. A moving and unforgettable visual tribute, as well as a window into the daily routine of a difficult yet rewarding public duty.