The New Centurions
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Book Overview
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 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...You Might Also Enjoy
Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsexcellent examination of what makes cops tick
"The New Centurions" came as a bit of a surprise to me. I read other Wambaugh works, but they were written more recently. This book was written back in the early part fo Wambaugh's career, and I feel under the false assumption that it was going to be inferior.Boy, was I wrong. This is the most honest and perfect police novel I have ever read, and I liked it more than the author's later work (which I love)."The New Centurions"...
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Rated 5 starsGreat look at the real LAPD and the heros behind it
I've read The New Centurians about 4 times, and it seems to get better every time!! This book paints a fascinating (and sometimes hilarious) portrait of big-city front line beat coppers and what they endure every day, not what you see on the news or on "Cops". In this, Wambaugh's first book (and sort of an autobiography of his first 5 years with the LAPD), he gives life to his characters, and you will feel like you ...
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Rated 5 starsGreat Book
I chose this book after reading previous reviews, for a summer reading project. I am going into 11th grade and it is mandatory that we read 2 books over the summer. I chose this one and was surprised how amazing it was. My stepfather is a cop and thats why it stood out of the crowd of other books. The book is about 3 men, and how they go from rookies to great cops in L.A. I was totally surprised by the ending, which...
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Rated 5 starsa rough and surprisingly beautiful novel
I have to admit that Wambaugh's subsequent books (with the exception of The Onion Field) have been major disappointments. Perhaps that is because this, his first novel, is such a wonderful and complete book. Everything else seems to be a valient yet failed effort to recapture to wonder and confusion of this bristling masterwork. It deals with the trials, triupmhs and personal failures of three young cops, the now stock...
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Rated 5 starsgritty, realistic portrayal of life as a LAPD officer
Wambaugh takes us beyond the "Adam-12 and "Dragnet" image of the LAPD in this gritty and realistic portrayal of three young police officers during their first five years on the force. During their tour, the men face the harsh reality of "Protecting and serving" the citizens of Los Angeles. He holds no punches, from the opening scene where a recruit almost gets choked to death in a self-defense class in Academy to the...
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