The Blue Knight

I've known about Joseph Wambaugh for many years, having grown up in Los Angeles, catching a few episodes of "The Blue Knight" TV series re-runs (starring George Kennedy) as a kid, and eventually embarking on a law enforcement career myself--mind you, I was Federal, not LAPD or LASD, but I've worked with (and befriended) enough SoCal municipal cops in my lifetime to be able to forge a common bond with them ("the bond of the badge," if you will).It was one particular retired LAPD officer within my circle of friends (one of my USC Trojan football tailgating buddies) who mentioned personally knowing and working with Joe Wambaugh and thus motivated to add a couple of Joe's books to my e-reader, and I started off with "TBK."I can now see why Mr. Wambaugh is such a popular author, with book critics and the general book-buying public alike, with cops and non-cops alike. An excellent writing style, hard-nosed, gritty, witty, and with an excellent eye for detail. Officer Bumper Morgan is a fascinating character who gives 21st century readers a very revealing insight into the mindset of L.A. cops and a snapshot of life in L.A. in general during the pre-PC days of the early 1970s. Never a dull moment, and an ending that'll hit you like a ton of bricks.--p. 8: "A one-man foot beat’s the best job in this or any police department. It always amuses policemen to see the movies where the big hood or crooked politician yells, 'I’ll have you walking a beat, you dumb flatfoot,' when really it’s a sought-after job." Haha, tell that to Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) in "The Untouchables."--p. 14: "Women are like cops, they sense things." Women's intuition = Cop's intuition? So, does that go double for female cops? (Contrast that with Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad": "It's true what they say, cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll also leave you feeling hollow inside.")--p. 15: "'See that man,' she said. 'That’s a policeman. He’ll come and get you and put you in jail if you’re bad.' She gave me a sweet smile, very smug because she thought I was impressed with her good citizenship. Frankie, who was only a half head taller than the kid, took a step toward them and said, 'That’s real clever, lady. Make him scared of the law. Then he’ll grow up hating cops because you scared him to death.'" Reminds me of my maternal cousins who gave me an abnormal fear of cops as a 4 y/o kid, claiming that police arrested babies for crying.A cigar aficionado! Way to go, Bumper!

one of the first police books I ever read 35 years ago - I've read it at least ten times since - I had 30 years on the job, and although things have changed dramatically, there are a lot of fundamental truths to the job in this book, and more importantly, a smooth, great read when you need to shut out the world - highly recommended for anyone that really wants to understand police work then and now

My second favorite cop novel, with first place going to "Serpico" by the brilliant Peter Maas.Joseph Wambaugh, an ex-cop and the writer of this book, is very good at creating compelling, complex, flawed characters. And Wambaugh was one of the first cop novelists to successfully write in-depth about the personal lives of policemen. (From the intro: It's not about how the cops work the cases; it's about how the cases work the cops).Wambaugh was also a creative force behind the t.v. show "Police Story" (1973-1978) which was hailed for being one of the very first cop shows to portray the life relatively realistically. "Police Story" is considered to be the link between less realistic cop series such as "Starsky and Hutch" (1975-1979) and more realistic series such as "Hill Street Blues" (1981-1987). In my mind, "Police Story" was more realistic than "Hill Street Blues," which has been described by its cocreator and head writer, Steven Bochco, as "a fairy tale."As for the movie based on this novel, William Holden was quite good in the lead role of Bumper Morgan, a flawed and complex yet likeable and competent cop. Other than that, the movie, which was made for t.v., made a lot of crucial casting mistakes and did not follow the novel nearly as closely as I would have liked.But getting back to the book, it's a very good read. I highly recommend this one. (If you've never read a cop novel before, you might want to start with "Serpico," and if that novel trips your trigger, then give "The Blue Knight" a shot.)

A masterfully developed group of characters, all situated around Bumper, who, in his not-so-blissful-ignorance, worms his way into the hearts of his colleagues, citizens on his beat and we readers. He must make several important decisions as he reaches his 20th anniversary on the job. He thinks the first one is easy...

If you like "Cop" stories, then this one is for you. Per Random House Inc, - "He's big and brash. His beat is the underbelly of Los Angeles vice--a world of pimps, pushers, winos, whores and killers. He lives each day his way--on the razor's edge of life. He was a damn good cop and LAPD detective. For fifteen years he prowled the streets, solved murders, took his lumps. Now he's the hard hitting, tough talking best selling writer who tells the brutal, true stories of the men who risk their loves every time a siren screams". The book was published in 1973 and I have enjoyed reading this book over and over again.

I recently started reading books by this author, and I love the older ones - they don't have the typical endings we have come to expect from current crime-related novels. This book was particularly interesting as a contrast between attitudes of police officers a few decades ago, and the ethics and political considerations officers have to deal with these days. It was a compelling read, and the ending was absolutely gut-wrenching. I still feel sad for the main character a few months after finishing the book, and occasionally find myself wishing I could find out what happened to him after the story ended. Wambaugh is a great author, and this was probably my favorite of his novels.

Read this in the 70's. Read this again in 2015.One of Wambaugh's best. Officer Bumper Morganis a guy you'll never forget. Very realistic on both reads.Just like being there. The ending will get your attention.

If you've ever walked the beat in a Police Uniform, you'll appreciate this book 100% because it was written by someone who did just that.Even if you never Policed a town, you'll really go for this because it is packed with detail of what happens on the street, the people you encounter, the situations, the highs and the lows.So this is a short review, the book says it all so read it!Joeseph Wambaugh was a real LAPD Police Officer who has it all taped. A great read!

Hated it from the start.

I remember this author from the seventies and eighties. Very true to life books. Not for the PC brigade, but like it or lump it, that's how people talked then.

Ultimate classic novel about LAPD uniformed cops during the troubled times of the 1960s and 1970s.

Three days at the end of career well written and describe through the highs and lows of a beat officers day.