Books that cops read, do you read books??

[Chiefy_Brown]

TOP SCI-FI book ever
THE BEAST by A.E van VOGT, this guy - out walking near his home, finds a buried "engine" on a hillside that he decides to carve up for "scrap" ....

WOW this is where the story starts, he gets injured - tampering with the crazy machine, but eventually gets it back to his workshop, brilliant story, anybody else know it ?

I love this book and have read it several times even, it is such a good read I tell you



which books do you read and do you have an all time favourite book ?

[SGT Dave]

There have been other threads on books, and I don't mind answering again, as long as no one is getting tired of my giving the same answers over and over. Just means I'm consistent.

In NO order in particular...

Rogue Warrior, by Richard Marcinko (L/CMDR, USN SEAL, Retired), which was non-fiction, and the fictional series it spawned (Red Cell, Green Team, Task Force Blue, Bravo Detachment, Option Delta,etc. I love his writing style, and the subject matter, but these books (and the truths they are loosely based around) will INFURIATE you-such as lax military base security, the politics involved in major decisions made by the military, base commanders that cared more about promotion than the actual security of their base and weapons, and you see how our enemies have EXPLOITED these weaknesses, and CONTINUE to exploit these weaknesses, even "post 9/11". I have Red Cell in the car right now.

Point Man by James "Patches" Watson (USN SEAL-retired) Watson was actually in one of Richard Marcinko's squads (above) in Viet Nam. This book is his biography, concentrating heavily on his service in RVN with the SEAL Teams. I met him in 1999, and he autographed my copy.

Where Is Joe Merchant by Jimmy Buffett. You have to be a "parrot head" -or at LEAST a certified seaplane pilot-to understand.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (sp?). A book about the '96 deaths on Mt. Everest from a magazine writer who was on one of the expeditions. I have to read it under an afghan with hot cider or cocoa, even in JULY! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Five Years To Freedom by Nick Rowe. Rowe's biographical account of his service in the Special Forces, and his capture. It tells, in graphic detail, his life as a POW under the Viets, and how he suffered numerous life threatening diseases, lost weight to the point of almost dying, watched his buddies die, made escape attempts, and generally kept his sanity during FIVE YEARS as a POW. After surviving all this, he was assassinated while working in the Philippines with Special Forces. He also co-designed a knife for the Special Forces (the SERE knife, now sold by Al-Mar knives) and I owned one for several years. My copy of his book was autographed to me by Rowe's widow.

Any Calvin and Hobbes cartoon book! My wife doesn't let me read them in bed because I keep her awake laughing so hard I'm shaking the bed.

Most of these, I re-read every year or two.

[ 02-08-2003, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: SGT Dave ]

[shooter1201]

Stephen Hunter!

I just finished reading The Second Saladin. It is the ONLY Stephen Hunter book I haven't enjoyed.

Currently, I'm reading Hunter's Pale Horse Coming. It promises to be MUCH better.

I also enjoy the Prey series of books by John Sanford.

I recently finished an EXCELLENT book by Tammi Hoag: Dark Horse.

[KYGlockShooter]

Point Man is a great book, I have read it several times. Along the same lines, I also like Men In Green Faces, by Gene Wentz. I met him at the Vietnam Wall in D.C. a fews years back, and found him to be very interesting and pleasent. He signed a copy of the book for me and I held up the tour bus talking to him. It was a pretty big deal for a high school senior.
I also like Black Sunday COming Down and The Moon is Always Full. I don't remember who the author is, but they are great books, even though they are out of print.
I guess wannabe cops like reading cop books.

[Kilrain]

The book "COPS" by Mark Baker is an eye opener for anyone interested in law enforcement. I read it when I was about 16 and it helped cement my interest in being a cop. I imagine many people would have the opposite reaction to it. It may seem a bit dated now, but the bottome line message is the same I think.

[Traffic_Goddess]

I'm currently reading Anne Rice's Blackwood Farm.

[ateamer]

I'm finishing Jimmy Buffett's "A Pirate Looks At Fifty". Next is "Fate is the Hunter", by Ernest K. Gann. No coincidence that flying is a main theme to both books. Most of what I read now has to do with aviation; flight safety, technique, weather, navigation or just anecdotes and fun stories.

I've read most of Joseph Wambaugh's books and re-read favorite passages many times. My favorites are his last few, after he got his sense of humor back.

Lou Cannon's "Official Negligence", the true, unbiased report on the Rodney King incident, trials, and riots is an excellent book which should be mandatory reading for all cops. It details the breakdown in the department's administration and command structure which led to the incident in the first place. It follows the trials, and shows why the jury reached the verdict they did, and then takes the reader into the breakdown of the department's administrators which allowed the riots to grow out of control. Fascinating book.

One I keep referring to for info is a local book, "Santa Cruz County Place Names", by Donald Thomas Clark, a local historian. It is an exhaustive index of every place in our county which has a particular name, including local nicknames; it details the history of the place names, sometimes taking several pages.

I also read a lot of magazines. Each month I get: AOPA Pilot, Flying, Pacific Flyer, General Aviation News, In Flight (the last three are freebies), PORAC News (law enforcement association), American Hunter, and AOPA Flight Training. My wife gets America's First Freedom and Prevention. I'll occasionally pick up a copy of Powerlifting USA or Stock Car Racing for some variety. We do recycle everything.

I read the local newspaper every day, but only the free online version. I refuse to pay for it because their reporting is so (deliberately) inaccurate.

I generally don't go in much for military-oriented stuff, but I'll check out Marcinko's books.

[SGT Dave]

I'll be the first to tell you ateamer that you may NOT like them. There is a lot of profanity and self-aggradization in them, and that is the chief complaints I hear from critics of them.

Have you read Where Is Joe Merchant by Buffett? It is far and away better (IMHO) than the other two books. It is also FAR more "flying" oriented.

[nitram]

The Prey Series by John Sanford. Love it, he's just taking too long to get another book out.

Tammi Hoag, I've read all her books.

Alex Kava, she is good, read all her books.

Stuart Woods, Orchid Beach, Orchid Blue, and Blood Orchid.

James Patterson, love his Alex Cross series and his Murder Club books.

[9-11]

I read "Demolition Man", a biography about Sting. It was repetitive, pretentious and far too long.

I enjoyed "Cold Zero" by Christopher Whitcomb about the FBI HRT team. What a career!

I started "The Lost Son", by ex-NYPD Commish Bernard Kerik but the arrogance of the man made it difficult to read and I gave it up. Kerick didn't accomplish half of what Whitcomb did as a cop but the book portrays him as the Second Coming.

[DARECOP]

Tom Clancy's fiction books, The Hunt for Red October, Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present Danger, etc.

Man this guy can write. I have them all and cant wait for the next. Jack Ryan rules!!

[OffDuty]

quote:

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Originally posted by KYGlockShooter:
and I held up the tour bus talking to him. It was a pretty big deal for a high school senior.
I also like Black Sunday COming Down and The Moon is Always Full. I don't remember who the author is, but they are great books, even though they are out of print

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Author is David Hunter.. I read Black Sunday YEARS ago (may even still have it). Could never find Moon or his other one "There was blood on the snow" would love to read if I could find...

[Sharky]

Dennis Lehane ~ Mystic River. Soon to be a major motion picture, directed by ol' squinty himself, Clint Eastwood. And Lehane's earlier books are terrific, too.

[notoriouspig409]

Authors:

Tom Clancy
Ann Rule
Joseph Wambaugh
Richard Marcinko

Subject Matter:

True Crime
Tactical Strategy & Techniques
Hostage Negotiation
Psychological Profiling

I read Whitcomb's book "Cold Zero" and enjoyed it. I also read Kerik's book "The Lost Son" and in contrast to the above post, enjoyed it.

If you want to read an arrogant author, try anything by John Douglas (former F.B.I. profiler). He's got some good information to impart, but I don't think I've ever read anyone that was more in love with themselves, than him.

[3/4s]

If you like good cop mysteries, try Archer Mayer. For a guy who`s not a cop, he shows small town P.D.s in a good light.

Clancy`s good but his last one "Red Rabbit" was a stinker. His Spec Ops books are a joke.

Writers in the Clancy genre, Richard Herman, Dale Brown.

Wambaugh`s good. For the NYPD, Dan Mahoney and Bill Caunitz.

World War II fiction, W.E.B. Griffin. He also has a series of books on the Philly P.D. also fiction.

Real war, Blackhawk Down and We Were Soldiers. Another one that`s just come out is Xin Loi about Viet Nam. Very good reviews. I haven`t read it yet. It was recommended by a retired PSP who went to school with the author.