|
Loading... Serpicoby Peter Maas
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. 1   MortimerRandolph | Jul 19, 2008 |  A great true story about a cop who gets in over his head. Al Pacino plays the guy in the movie Serpico. He's fabulous. (  ) whitneysetser | Feb 28, 2007 | Frank Serpico was a NY cop who not only refused to participate in corruption, but took measures to expose it and root it out, risking his life in the process. This book is a well written account of this man's life and career. (  ) placo75 | Dec 14, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority.
Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced -- or bought -- and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:56 -0400)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English (2)
The research involved and the effort in organizing that research into a coherent book are staggering. If, along the way, Maas occasionally sees things too simply, it’s forgivable.
Frank Serpico was a rarity: an honest policeman who realized his loyalty should lie with the public he was paid to protect, not with cops who profited from misery. Years of trying to effect changes in-department slowly left the bearded officer from the Village more and more jaded until, finally, four badges walked side-by-side to enact unprecedented public disclosure.
Serpico’s story is a triumph of moral courage, the telling of his story a triumph of journalism. (