num_pages: 495
description: As a Harvard graduate and regular writer for the New Yorker, Edward Conlon is a little different from most of his fellow New York City cops.And the stories he tells in his compelling memoir Blue Blood are miles away from the commonly told Hollywood-style police tales that are always action packed but rarely tethered to reality. While there is action here, there's also political hassle, the rich and often troubling history of a department not unfamiliar with corruption, and the day to day life of people charged with preserving order in America's largest city. Conlon's book is, in part, a memoir as he progresses from being a rookie cop working the beat at troubled housing projects to assignments in the narcotics division to eventually becoming a detective. But it's also the story of his family history within the enormous NYPD as well as the evolving role of the police force within the city.Conlon relates the controversies surrounding the somewhat familiar shooting of Amadou Diallou and the abuse, at the hands of New York cops, of Abner Louima. But being a cop himself, Conlon lends insight and nuance to these issues that could not possibly be found in the newspapers. And as an outstanding writer, he draws the reader into that world. In the book's most remarkable passage, Conlon tells of the grim but necessary work done at the Fresh Kills landfill, sifting through the rubble and remains left in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 (a section originally published in The New Yorker).In many ways, Blue Blood comes to resemble the world of New York City law enforcement that Conlon describes: both are expansive, sprawling, multi-dimensional, and endlessly fascinating. And Conlon's writing is perfectly matched to his subject, always lively, keenly observant, and possessing a streetwise energy.
language: English
title: Blue Blood by Conlon, Edward (2004) Paperback
titlecomplete: Blue Blood by Conlon, Edward (2004) Paperback
characters: American Law Enforcement
genres: New York, Autobiography, History, Police, Biography Memoir, Biography, Memoir, Crime, Nonfiction, True Crime
ratings_count: 1771
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Anthony Award
category: Best Nonfiction, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: New York City Book Award
category: Book of the Year, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: General Nonfiction
publisher: Riverhead Books