Helpful Score: 2
Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. Detective Conlon takes the reader from his early days on patrol as a rookie, fresh out of the police academy, to his current days as an NYPD Detective. He does a great job narrating his war stories, keeping the reader enticed throughout the book. He explains the slang terminology used in police work so that the layman can easily follow along. He writes about having to deal with the daily politics that are so prevalent on the job. There is also a section of the book regarding 9/11 and it's aftermath which was very moving. This is a great book to read and I would highly recommend it. It definitely gives the public some insight on the inner workings of the NYPD.
Helpful Score: 2
I could not put this book down. I saw an interview with him and had to find the book and read it. It is a literate and riveting account of his desire to be a police officer. It covers right up to the 9-11 attacks. Absolutely worth reading just to answer the question of why a Harvard educated man would turn his back on all the high power jobs he had available to become a NYC police officer.
I really enjoyed this book. This is the kind of cop you hope to have on every police force! It was revealing and poignant all at the same time.
Here we have a housing cop retelling his days/nights on the beat in the projects of N.Y., projects being a rough place to patrol in general. I liked the way he wrote his tales and I could feel and see the energy in his words. Parts will make you laugh and others make you cry as when he came upon the grandmother in the back bedroom of one tenant. It made me sick to my stomach and I could not fathom what kind of animals would do this to anyone, not to mention their own family, no less. If you like cop stories and I love them, you will not be disappointed here. Lots of action and detail.
This book chronicles Edward Conlon's decision to become a New York police officer, his entrance to the force, and his career. What makes this account different is his willingness to share his feelings and his doubts along the way.
Interesting - definitely worth reading if you are interested in the topic. I felt the narrative was stilted.
autobiography of a currently working NY city cop. Large paperback. A bit lengthy but good book. Lots of funny stuff.
I expected more from this book. The author couldn't decide if he was writing a biography, a history of the NYPD, or his family history. I gather that he is still a detective in the NYPD, so maybe he had to censor his writing. Strangely there is not a lot of personal information here either. It is mostly anecdotes about his job. Some are about before his time in the Dept., like the French Connection story, which has been told and retold elsewhere. I stuck with the 560 pages because I thought there had to be a point to this story by a Harvard education policeman. That said, the part about the Trade Towers and 9/11 was touching, and personal.
Couldn't get into this book.
