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!
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Top reviews from other countries
Persis Willis
The author tried hard to make me love "Bumper" but it didn't work for me and I ...
Reviewed in Canada on September 5, 2015