The New Centurions

"The New Centurions" is Joseph Wambaugh's first foray into fiction novels. Prior to the publication of this book, Wambaugh had been known solely as a true crime author of such works as "The Onion Field." And who would expect anything less? He was a bonafide L.A. PD police officer and detective, and one of the cardinal commandments of authorship is "write what you know." So at the time, "Centurions" was a substantial departure from his previous works. And honestly, it shows.

The main problem with the book is that there is no plot. The story follows three L.A. PD officers from the same academy class over the course of their careers. Each section of the novel is divided into three separate chapters, one for each of the officers, and each show more section covers one year. As time goes on they develop from academy cadets to seasoned officers, eventually coming back together in the chaos of the infamous Watts riots. But other than that, there's not much of a plot to hold the story together. Consequently the action meanders.

I suppose you could say that "Centurions" is an over-sized character study. Wambaugh takes great pains to illustrate the gradual development of each officer, their fears and insecurities and foibles. He really does a great job of it, and he makes it an entertaining book because of that. The law enforcement anecdotes by themselves were worth the price of admission (so to speak), and Wambaugh's skill at characterization was what kept me reading. But well-developed characters alone do not a successful novel make. It's a major facet, of course, but there needs to be something more. Mainly a plot. And the internal ansgt of a trio of insecure characters doesn't fit the bill.

If there had been an overarching plot to the story, this book would have gotten more than three stars from me. And that's not to say that "Centurions" isn't entertaining or enjoyable or any number of positive epithets. To be sure, Wambaugh is good at what he does, but "The New Centurions" has the after taste of an angsty faction vignette on the topic of "emotion." The tools are all there for one hell of a police procedural tale, and indeed, in later works Wambaugh is able to put them together quite successfully. It's just that, like many writers, he falls short of that achievement in his earlier work. show less

I remarked to my husband as I was reading that this, The Choirboys and The Blue Knight should all be required reading for all law enforcement officers, especially metropolitan ones. Once again Wambaugh provides such an interesting and believable portrait of life as a cop in decades ago LA. While this is going on 40 plus years since the first publication, it could just as well have been set in this century as well as this decade. While I’m sure it’s was shocking in 1970, it’s just as much sobering in 2012 in that we’re forced to see that some things never really change. Without a doubt Wambaugh remains the master of portraying big city policing, the funny, the sad and the reality of life as a cop.

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Here in his classic debut novel, Wambaugh presents a stunning, raw, and unforgettable depiction of life behind the thin blue line. In a class of new police recruits, Augustus Plebesly is fast and scared. Roy Fehler is full of ideals. And Serge Duran is an ex-marine running away from his Chicano childhood. In a few weeks they'll put on the blue uniform of the LAPD. In months they'll know how to interpret the mad babble of the car radio, smell danger, trap a drug dealer, hide a secret, and-most of all-live with the understanding that cops are different from everyone else. But for these men, these new show more centurions, time is an enemy. The year is 1960. The streets are burning with rage. And before they can grow old on this job, they'll have to fight for their lives... show less

This is an excellent police novel by the master of police novels.

This novel follows an officer from police training to being out on the street and riding with his veteran partner.

As with many of Wambaugh's books, the novel is hilarious, serious, daring and heartbreaking.

This novel was made into a movie with Stacy Keach and the great George C. Scott. A wonderful movie that captures the novel well.

Highly recommended.

As cop writers go, Joseph Wambaugh is as good as they come. Many say he is the best, and I won't argue with them. Any fan of cop stories should buy Wambaugh's books without hesitation. Even I like Joseph Wambaugh's novels, and I hate cops.

Joseph Wambaugh's first police procedural published in 1971 while he was still a police officer. It's still pretty good.

En Los nuevos centuriones Joseph Wambaugh nos presenta los cinco años de complejo aprendizaje de tres policías de Los Ángeles durante la década de los sesenta. En este tiempo, investigan robos y persiguen a prostitutas, sofocan guerras entre bandas y apaciguan riñas familiares. Pero también descubren que, a pesar de coincidir en una base autoritaria, sus puntos de vista divergen en la necesidad de cada uno de rozar el mal y el desorden. Con un ritmo vertiginoso, en esta historia de casos urgentes y frustraciones cada semana implica nuevos peligros y nuevas rutinas, largas horas de trabajo de oficina o la violenta y repentina erupción de disturbios raciales. Tanto en el vehículo de patrulla nocturna, como en el escuadrón de show more suplentes, cada hombre tiene que aprender -y pronto- la esencia de las calles y la esencia de las gentes. show less