RIP
I knew him back in the day. His books were a big hit.
RIP
Loved and adored him as a writer. “The Blue Knight” one of my all time fave books.
Great writer. Really enjoyed his books. RIP.
One of my favorite passages, that I’ve used many times is the real vs the really real.
A cop comes upon a known scourge on the streets who has been shot. The “real” is he does chest compressions to save him. The really real is he is pumping the heart so the POS bleeds out faster.
I read his “Echoes in the Darkness” during my true crime phase. Good writer.
The man could write and most of the movies made from them were also good.
One of my favorite writers back in the day. Hard to nail down a favorite by him, but “The New Centurions” and “The Choirboys” are right up there. I grew up in LA and wanted to be a cop because of his books. The closest I got was being a military policeman in the Air Force (Security Specialist, AFSC 81150). Luckily for me, fate led me into the fire service instead. Rest in peace, Mr. Waumbaugh and thanks for all the good reads.
Oh man, sad news. I think I have read just about everything he wrote, fiction and nonfiction. IMHO, no one ever wrote better LAPD novels. Great characters, funny, interesting endearing, and tragic too.
RIP Joseph Wambaugh.
When I was getting ready to EOD at the Border Patrol Academy in 1985, someone gave me a copy of ‘Lines and Shadows’.
I found out just how accurate it was when I hit the field. I later worked with several agents who had been on the San Diego Bandit Team at the time the book was written.
No one would believe how violent and out of control the border was in those years. Back then the average American had never heard about the Border Patrol or what went on on the border. The media kept in under the radar.
I remember thinking that movie “The Choir Boys” had some really funny parts, especially the duck in the guys locker...