The New Centurions

"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" focuses on the lives of three Los Angeles cops from bot camp to their 5 year anniversary on the force. Not a police procedural, the emphasis is rather on the lives of the characters and the various experiences they go through as police officers. Alternately brutal, funny, smart, sad, warm, philosophical, and ugly, "The New Centurions" is an extremely well-done piece of realistic fiction. These characters could be real.I won't spoil anything here, but I have to recommend this book to anyone interested in the cop lifestyle. I'm going to give this book to my brother who has contemplated becoming a police officer, since I think the realism here can be an eye-opener.

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 know them personally. If you, or someone you know is considering a career in law enforcement, this book will provide some insight what it means to be a policeman.

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 I wont give away. I recommend this book to a mature teen, or adult. Great characterization and simply, 2 thumbs up!

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 characters of the confused kid, the inept failure trying to make something out of himself and the brainy, yet physically weak intellectual who tries to out smart every situation. It takes them from academy training up through the Watts riots of 1965. The characters are real, innately believable and sympathetic and abhorrent and cruel. I loved this book. With the exception of the brutal novels of James Ellroy, there is no better "cop" fiction available, and it is infinately more realistic than Ellroy's work because we get the sense that Wambaugh truly was there at these events, that he honestly understand s what it is like to be young and scared with a gun and a badge when the whole world is falling apart. It took about four or five books before Wambaugh became just another second rate crime novelist. This is the finest of his almost true-crime fiction. Likely you will burn through this absorbing novel in the shortest time possible. Compelling, funny, action-packed and sad, this is a wonderful book that, within its ever growing sub-genre, will likely never be equaled.

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 final scene where Officer Roy Fehler lies dying from a gunshot wound. As one reviewer stated, "like cops? read the New Centurians. Hate cops? read the New Centurians." Wambaugh's realism is what makes his books enjoyable to read. I am a long time fan of the NBC television anthology "Police Story" developed by Wambaugh in the 1970s, and reading books such as "The New Centurians" gives me an understanding of why the show was so successful.