Blue Blood by Edward Conlon

'Superb. The most stunning memoir ever written about the cop world' Joseph Wambaugh 'Beautiful and inspiring, terrifying and heartbreaking' James Frey 'More chilling than even the most realistic cop dramas on TV' People 'A great book...with the testimonial force equal to that of Michael Herr's Dispatches ' Time

Blue Blood is the fast-paced, insider story of Edward Conlon's career in the New York Police Department. Conlon tells of his first days as a rookie, walking a beat in the south Bronx through his time in narcotics and his ascent to gold shield detective. Conlon is the product of generations involved in law enforcement, good cops and bad, and he paints a vivid portrait of the teeming street life of the city, in all its horror and splendour.

It's all here: adrenaline-fuelled chases, toxic police politics, crackhead informants and police camaraderie. The pace is relentless, the stories hypnotic, the scope nothing less than monumental.