Cop in the Hood: Favorite Books of 2011

December 29, 2011

Favorite Books of 2011

One of Mother Jones's favorite books of 2011 is In Defense of Flogging.

It makes a fabulous Christmas stocking stuffer, for all you Old Calendarists out there (just 10 shopping days left).

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Buy In Defense of Flogging at Amazon.com.

In Defense of Flogging, the website.

Acclaim for In Defense of Flogging:

[Moskos's] provocative book makes many sanely provocative points; it is one I’ve urged on those who want to do more reading on the subject, and I’d urge it again now.—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

Don’t laugh: He makes a convincing case.... Clear, smart and highly readable prose.... Let the debate begin. —Craig Seligman, Bloomberg

You rascal, I thought. Moskos ... knows how to catch our attention. —Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune

It could have profound consequences.... In Defense of Flogging forces the reader to confront issues surrounding incarceration that most Americans would prefer not to think about. —Mansfield Frazier, The Daily Beast

“Flogging” is intriguing, even in — or because of — its shocking premise. As a case against prisons, Mr. Moskos' is airtight. —Washington Times

Compelling… Although his outrageous idea may conjure up unsavory reminders of U.S. slavery, by the end of “In Defense of Flogging,” Moskos might just have you convinced. —Salon

One of the very few public-policy books I've encountered that goes past wringing its hands over a societal problem.... Moskos's sharp little volume has a potential audience far beyond the experts. —Rich Fisher, Public Radio Tusla

A brilliant piece of work.... Witty, entertaining, and creative. —Wendell Bell, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Yale University

It was, in truth, a book that I could not put down. I read it in two sittings (my butt was hurting after the first!)... You did well. —Gary Alan Fine, John Evans Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University.

Critical Acclaim for Cop in the Hood

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood .

The press like it:

Riveting. . . . An unsparing boys-in-blue procedural that succeeds on its own plentiful—and wonderfully sympathetic—merits.
—The Atlantic

Never mind "The Wire." Here is the real thing.
—The Wall Street Journal

"Galloping Prose!"
—Milt Rosenberg

"Engaging as well as persuasive."
—Baltimore Sun

"[An] adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law enforcement."
—Publishers Weekly

"Genuinely eye-opening.... A compelling account."
—Times Higher Education

"[An] objective, incisive and intelligent account of police work. Moskos's graphic descriptions of the drug culture... are the most detailed and analytical to be found anywhere.
—Arnold Ages, Jewish Post & Opinion

"Scrupulously researched."
—(Baltimore) City Paper

Cops like it:

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood.

"Should be made mandatory reading for every recruit in the Balto. City Police Academy. ... I am so proud that you were a Baltimore Police Officer and a good one."
—Colonel (ret.) Margaret Patton, Baltimore City Police Department

"I just finished reading the last footnote! Great stuff."
—NYPD Lt. Detective (ret.) David Durk

"I have been a cop now for 23 years and your book really captured what it's like to be a street cop. . . . Great book, great insights."
—Detective-Commander Joseph Petrocelli

"Moskos strips away hard to decipher cop-speak and sociological mumbo jumbo and presents something easily digestible by the average reader.... Moskos is a veteran of a war [on drugs] he disagrees with. But he has walked the walk, respects the brotherhood and, as far as I’m concerned, still bleeds blue."
—Pepper Spray Me

Academics like it:

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood .

"Hard-edged sociological analysis.... A devastating critique of America’s failed war on drugs."
—Orlando Patterson

"The best recent study in the field or urban ethnography.... An exemplar for the field of sociology."
—Elijah Anderson

"Leads to a rethinking of some important ideas in the sociology of deviance."
—Howard Becker

"A masterpiece of the participant observation genre."
—Mitchell Duneier

"Congratulations!!!"
—John Van Maanen

"An imaginative ethnography, unconventional in style and purpose. ... A close and moving description of big city policing."
—Peter K. Manning

"[A] riveting tale of policing.... A must read."
—Sudhir Venkatesh

"It gives the reader the real dope.... Highly recommended."
—Alex Tabarrok

"An extremely valuable study.... His insights are eye-opening."
—Jim Leitzel

"Truly excellent.... Mandatory reading for all fans of The Wire and recommended for everyone else."
—Tyler Cowen

"Ethnographic chutzpah.... Perhaps the best sociological account on what it means to police a modern ghetto.... Tells a great story centered around notions of race, power and social control."
—Andrew Papachristos, American Journal of Sociology

"Riveting"
—Monica J. Massey, ACJS Today

Writers like it:

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood .

“Thoughtful, highly entertaining record of ... one of the country’s toughest urban districts."
—George Pelecanos

"Moskos is a good man; he's up to the job."
—Dan Baum, author of Nine Lives.

Even normal people like it:

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood .

"Recommended for...insights into law enforcement and, in a nerdier vein, how participant observation can inform social science."
—The Monkey Cage

"Sorta like a non-fiction Joseph Wambaugh for the new millennium."
—IrishPirate.

"For anyone interested is what being a police officer in Baltimore City is really like, Peter Moskos' in-depth, academic, and realist account in Cop in the Hood is a must-read. . . . enlightening and authoritative."
—Sean O'Donnell, Baltimore Republican Examiner

My former boss, a convicted felon, he doesn't like it:

"Just garbage! ... Who does he think he is telling me what to do?"
—Ex-Baltimore City Police Commissioner (and did I mention convicted felon?) Ed Norris

Read the full reviews.

Buy Cop in the Hood.