Serpico

Frank Serpico was definitely a smart, dynamic, and ambitious police officer, if everything in this book is true. History treats him as a martyred hero, with all the praise for risking his life and being brave enough to do what others didn’t. However, I find some holes in the story, with regard to how much he really accomplished. Despite being a working class Italian cop from Brooklyn, he doesn’t come off as street smart. Throughout the book he seems to go out of his way not to be trusted by his peers, and that’s not a way to accomplish anything. He cultivates the most bizarre image and persona, hiding behind a beard and funny clothes, constantly trying to reinvent himself. It’s one thing to adopt the look of a shabby hippy in order to go undercover, but Serpico wanted to be a hippy and a cop at the same time. He does things that undermine his credibility, and complains constantly instead of taking care of things himself. After reading this book, I have to wonder if Serpico is really worthy of all the praise that he received. For some reason it took Serpico a decade to become a detective, despite having a college degree, multiple languages, a great arrest record, and top marksmanship skills. He was accused of being a peeping tom, which may or may not have been true, but even without an accusation like that, he comes off as a troublemaker. He’s always complaining about the other cops, but never makes any effort to improve things for his fellow officers. There’s a part where he finds all the night shift officers camping out in a basement (known as “cooping”) so he goes out on patrol by himself. That’s good, he takes the initiative and makes an arrest. But he could have tried to convince one of them to go along with him. He takes issue with the corruption in the plainclothes division, but he could have asked to be reassigned to uniform. Not the best way to become a detective, I agree, but he could still have accomplished great things. It was a waste for him to stay in a division for which he had nothing but disdain. More outrageous and bizarre incidents follow. He shoots a fleeing suspect in the back (without knowing if he’s armed or not) then patrols his own neighborhood (a big no-no) while disguised as an old man and carrying a sword cane (not allowed.) His superiors aren’t happy, and no wonder, because he’s violating the rules to arrest a mugger (and the charges would probably be dropped anyway.) He spends half his time complaining about corrupt cops, but what does he expect? These cops were paid crap, the bookies never got sent to prison, so why would the vice cops make any effort? It’s no wonder the cops were all taking payoffs from numbers runners, pimps, drug dealers, and professional burglars. It wasn’t cops like Serpico that destroyed the numbers racket, but the legalization of the New York Lotto. History credits Frank Serpico with exposing police corruption, and that’s how we’ll all remember him. Whenever we hear the name, we’ll think of the Knapp Commission, and the lone honest cop versus the dirty pigs, and all of his hippy heroics. However, a lot of what he’s credited with was done by another cop named David Durk, and that’s where things get weird. Durk was older than Serpico, had fewer years on the force, but somehow got promoted faster. The two of them were certainly an “odd couple” in every sense of the word; Durk was the tall blonde Jewish guy, and Serpico was the scruffy little Italian-American hippy. A lot of readers, not just myself, think that the media focused on Serpico exactly because of that - he was an Italian - and they needed him to the be the big hero! The Valacci Papers and The Godfather had hit the bookstores, furthering the stereotype Italian-American criminal, and in Officer Serpico the media found a more positive role-model. As for Durk, who risked his career to expose corruption, he’s only a footnote in this book. Even the movie skips him over, turning him into a waspy character named “Blaire.” After the events of this book, things didn’t go well for Serpico. He got shot in the face and it left him partially deaf, then he left the force and lived in Europe for a while, came back to the USA in the early 80’s. In the 1990’s he was in the spotlight again, thanks to the Abner Louima case and the new debate on police brutality, but few really cared about his opinion. As for David Durk, he got promoted to Lieutenant, but the NYPD stuck him in boring jobs he didn’t like, and when he retired he got screwed on his pension. Like Serpico, he left the city for upstate New York, but spent the rest of his life trying to bring attention to police corruption, and his efforts were mostly ignored. After reading this book, and a few others about this topic, I wonder if Serpico and Durk are some kind of little-and-large comedy act? You have the scruffy little working class Italian American hippy weirdo, and the well-dressed straight-arrow upper-class Jew. When I wonder why both of them ended up with less-than-ideal ends, it dawns on me that they had issues to begin with. Both of them seem deluded and unable to face reality. They both had fantasies of making some radical change to American life, which everyone knows doesn’t happen overnight, and certainly can’t be accomplished by only two men. They would have to have been crazy to do what they did, taking the risk that their fellow cops would mark them as rats. It was the same crazy attitude that led to their undoing.

To be honest, although I had heard the name "Serpico", I had no idea who he was. Thus, I had no expectations about the book, except that we had read several books by this author and enjoyed them all, so I expected the same. The book started out well; his childhood was most interesting, and of course laid the basis for his future career. I greatly admired Serpico's morality and persistence, but after all that he went through, I couldn't stop wondering why he didn't simply quit the force. I also tired of his attitude. If you don't like the situation you're in, GET OUT. Persistence is one thing, stubbornness is quite another, and the age-old expression, "you can't fight city hall" is so true. I'm sorry the man has such horrible memories of his career, when it could have been so different. We all have dreams as children of our futures, but we grow up, we mature and face reality. This man refused to do so, trying in vain to change the world.

I ordered this because it was recommended by a friend. It is used, but in great shape. It came quickly and is a good read!

Penned by a terrific writer, Peter Maas ("The Valachi Papers," "King of the Gypsies"). This book is an excellent showcase for Mass's well-honed skills: excellent narrative, well-drawn characters, great dialogue, subtle humor, and under-the-microscope detail (meticulous, but never too fussy). Unfortunately, I read this book about 20 times or so before I saw the movie (directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1973, starring Al Pacino, who gave a good performance in the title role). Peter Maas must be one of the most cinematic novelists of all time, which means that, more so than most novels I've read, I saw this novel, very lucidly, as a movie in my mind, over and over, as I read this book, over and over. What Sidney Lumet put up on the screen couldn't begin to compare with what I saw in my mind as I read the book. On the other hand, I've never been much of a Sidney Lumet fan ("Network," "The Verdict," "The Morning After"). I've never thought much of his in-your-face dullsville mainstream liberal speechifying and his no-directorial-style "style." Not to mention that Lumet left out of the movie many of the best parts of the book. ----------------------------------- Oh me oh my, I just finished reading the above and it seems to focus more on the movie than the book. Getting back to the book: I LOVE THIS BOOK. Go out and get it. Even if you're not interested in cop novels or cops in general (although Frank Serpico was no typical cop). Think of it as an excellent biography (you do like biographies, don't you?).

graft [grafht] (n.): the acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, especially through the abuse of one’s position or influence in politics, business, etc. I’ve had a hard time concentrating on reading for a few months, otherwise it wouldn’t have taken so long to finish this memoir. Oddly enough, while trudging through it, I started watching the BBC series George Gently and the documentary series called Detectives. The former deals with police corruption in Scotland Yard during the mid 1960s, and the other focused on a string of historic sexual abuse cases that took place in the late 60s and early 70s by a famous Manchester radio deejay. They really helped set the tone and environment for the events that transpired in the book. February 3, 1971–Frank Serpico, aged thirty-five is shot in the face while working as an undercover detective in South Brooklyn’s Narcotics division. Another close call in the line of duty, or a deliberate set-up by “his own kind’? An odd question to ask, except Frank Serpico is not like any other detectives of his time. A Greenwich Villager sporting a full beard, long hair, funky boots and dungarees, he embodied everything police feared in the 60s–hippies. He was also unique in another more meaningful way: “Serpico–this apparent hippie, womanizer, hedonist–had dared to do the unheard-of, the unpardonable, in police circles. Having solemnly sworn to uphold the law, he elected to do just that, to enforce it against everybody–and not, in the gran tradition of even the most personally honest policemen, against everybody except other cops. He would not go along with the graft, the bribes, the shakedowns; and he refused to look the other way.” A very interesting read. I found the ending unsatisfactory, even though this edition contained an afterword from Serpico himself dated Fall 1996. The truth is that this is a true story, not a fairy tale. Have things changed much since Serpico’s time in law enforcement? I think we’d all like to hope so. However his memoir created more doubts than certainties for me. Hmmm…food for thought.

This book shows the courage of one New York City policeman who tries to make a difference based on his moral convictions. In the end one is left with great doubt that anything can change when corruption is so ingrained in an insulated police force. With so many questioning today why the police are quick to use deadly force, it's time to read a book like this and see that the problem has deep roots.

This book is an absolute page turner. What Frank Serpico did was simply incredible. During the time that Mr. Serpico was a police officer the corruption was rampant within NYPD and it would of been easy just to take the illegal payoffs and be quiet. Serpico should have a statue and a building named after him but that will never happen. Great book if your interested in what the New York Police Department was like in the 60’s , 70’s then this book will not disappoint you. Great film as well.

Cover was damaged with pages all wrinkly, not worth the cost.

This IS A TRUE STORY!!! This is the story of ONE honest cop/detective that actually tried to clean up crime in the "Big Apple" and got a bullet in his head thanks to his fellow officers due to his bringing in the FBI to clean up the NYPD itself....full of corruption!!!!! This man deserves to be awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR.......strong words, yet few people in the history of our country have sacrificed as much as him and very unfortnately, only lip service is given in support by the Congress of the United States. Frank Serpico is a modern AMERICAN HERO of the HIGHEST ORDER!!!!!!! By the way, Mr. Serpico has to live in a foreign country to protect himself from taking a finalizing "hit" from friends of the corrupt officers of the NYPD.....I'm not saying ALL the officers are corrupt but far too many are!

Appreciated the details included in the book

Frank Serpico was definitely a smart, dynamic, and ambitious police officer, if everything in this book is true. History treats him as a martyred hero, with all the praise for risking his life and being brave enough to do what others didn’t. However, I find some holes in the story, with regard to how much he really accomplished. Despite being a working class Italian cop from Brooklyn, he doesn’t come off as street smart. Throughout the book he seems to go out of his way not to be trusted by his peers, and that’s not a way to accomplish anything. He cultivates the most bizarre image and persona, hiding behind a beard and funny clothes, constantly trying to reinvent himself. It’s one thing to adopt the look of a shabby hippy in order to go undercover, but Serpico wanted to be a hippy and a cop at the same time. He does things that undermine his credibility, and complains constantly instead of taking care of things himself. After reading this book, I have to wonder if Serpico is really worthy of all the praise that he received. For some reason it took Serpico a decade to become a detective, despite having a college degree, multiple languages, a great arrest record, and top marksmanship skills. He was accused of being a peeping tom, which may or may not have been true, but even without an accusation like that, he comes off as a troublemaker. He’s always complaining about the other cops, but never makes any effort to improve things for his fellow officers. There’s a part where he finds all the night shift officers camping out in a basement (known as “cooping”) so he goes out on patrol by himself. That’s good, he takes the initiative and makes an arrest. But he could have tried to convince one of them to go along with him. He takes issue with the corruption in the plainclothes division, but he could have asked to be reassigned to uniform. Not the best way to become a detective, I agree, but he could still have accomplished great things. It was a waste for him to stay in a division for which he had nothing but disdain. More outrageous and bizarre incidents follow. He shoots a fleeing suspect in the back (without knowing if he’s armed or not) then patrols his own neighborhood (a big no-no) while disguised as an old man and carrying a sword cane (not allowed.) His superiors aren’t happy, and no wonder, because he’s violating the rules to arrest a mugger (and the charges would probably be dropped anyway.) He spends half his time complaining about corrupt cops, but what does he expect? These cops were paid crap, the bookies never got sent to prison, so why would the vice cops make any effort? It’s no wonder the cops were all taking payoffs from numbers runners, pimps, drug dealers, and professional burglars. It wasn’t cops like Serpico that destroyed the numbers racket, but the legalization of the New York Lotto. History credits Frank Serpico with exposing police corruption, and that’s how we’ll all remember him. Whenever we hear the name, we’ll think of the Knapp Commission, and the lone honest cop versus the dirty pigs, and all of his hippy heroics. However, a lot of what he’s credited with was done by another cop named David Durk, and that’s where things get weird. Durk was older than Serpico, had fewer years on the force, but somehow got promoted faster. The two of them were certainly an “odd couple” in every sense of the word; Durk was the tall blonde Jewish guy, and Serpico was the scruffy little Italian-American hippy. A lot of readers, not just myself, think that the media focused on Serpico exactly because of that - he was an Italian - and they needed him to the be the big hero! The Valacci Papers and The Godfather had hit the bookstores, furthering the stereotype Italian-American criminal, and in Officer Serpico the media found a more positive role-model. As for Durk, who risked his career to expose corruption, he’s only a footnote in this book. Even the movie skips him over, turning him into a waspy character named “Blaire.” After the events of this book, things didn’t go well for Serpico. He got shot in the face and it left him partially deaf, then he left the force and lived in Europe for a while, came back to the USA in the early 80’s. In the 1990’s he was in the spotlight again, thanks to the Abner Louima case and the new debate on police brutality, but few really cared about his opinion. As for David Durk, he got promoted to Lieutenant, but the NYPD stuck him in boring jobs he didn’t like, and when he retired he got screwed on his pension. Like Serpico, he left the city for upstate New York, but spent the rest of his life trying to bring attention to police corruption, and his efforts were mostly ignored. After reading this book, and a few others about this topic, I wonder if Serpico and Durk are some kind of little-and-large comedy act? You have the scruffy little working class Italian American hippy weirdo, and the well-dressed straight-arrow upper-class Jew. When I wonder why both of them ended up with less-than-ideal ends, it dawns on me that they had issues to begin with. Both of them seem deluded and unable to face reality. They both had fantasies of making some radical change to American life, which everyone knows doesn’t happen overnight, and certainly can’t be accomplished by only two men. They would have to have been crazy to do what they did, taking the risk that their fellow cops would mark them as rats. It was the same crazy attitude that led to their undoing.

To be honest, although I had heard the name "Serpico", I had no idea who he was. Thus, I had no expectations about the book, except that we had read several books by this author and enjoyed them all, so I expected the same. The book started out well; his childhood was most interesting, and of course laid the basis for his future career. I greatly admired Serpico's morality and persistence, but after all that he went through, I couldn't stop wondering why he didn't simply quit the force. I also tired of his attitude. If you don't like the situation you're in, GET OUT. Persistence is one thing, stubbornness is quite another, and the age-old expression, "you can't fight city hall" is so true. I'm sorry the man has such horrible memories of his career, when it could have been so different. We all have dreams as children of our futures, but we grow up, we mature and face reality. This man refused to do so, trying in vain to change the world.

I ordered this because it was recommended by a friend. It is used, but in great shape. It came quickly and is a good read!

Penned by a terrific writer, Peter Maas ("The Valachi Papers," "King of the Gypsies"). This book is an excellent showcase for Mass's well-honed skills: excellent narrative, well-drawn characters, great dialogue, subtle humor, and under-the-microscope detail (meticulous, but never too fussy). Unfortunately, I read this book about 20 times or so before I saw the movie (directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1973, starring Al Pacino, who gave a good performance in the title role). Peter Maas must be one of the most cinematic novelists of all time, which means that, more so than most novels I've read, I saw this novel, very lucidly, as a movie in my mind, over and over, as I read this book, over and over. What Sidney Lumet put up on the screen couldn't begin to compare with what I saw in my mind as I read the book. On the other hand, I've never been much of a Sidney Lumet fan ("Network," "The Verdict," "The Morning After"). I've never thought much of his in-your-face dullsville mainstream liberal speechifying and his no-directorial-style "style." Not to mention that Lumet left out of the movie many of the best parts of the book. ----------------------------------- Oh me oh my, I just finished reading the above and it seems to focus more on the movie than the book. Getting back to the book: I LOVE THIS BOOK. Go out and get it. Even if you're not interested in cop novels or cops in general (although Frank Serpico was no typical cop). Think of it as an excellent biography (you do like biographies, don't you?).

graft [grafht] (n.): the acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, especially through the abuse of one’s position or influence in politics, business, etc. I’ve had a hard time concentrating on reading for a few months, otherwise it wouldn’t have taken so long to finish this memoir. Oddly enough, while trudging through it, I started watching the BBC series George Gently and the documentary series called Detectives. The former deals with police corruption in Scotland Yard during the mid 1960s, and the other focused on a string of historic sexual abuse cases that took place in the late 60s and early 70s by a famous Manchester radio deejay. They really helped set the tone and environment for the events that transpired in the book. February 3, 1971–Frank Serpico, aged thirty-five is shot in the face while working as an undercover detective in South Brooklyn’s Narcotics division. Another close call in the line of duty, or a deliberate set-up by “his own kind’? An odd question to ask, except Frank Serpico is not like any other detectives of his time. A Greenwich Villager sporting a full beard, long hair, funky boots and dungarees, he embodied everything police feared in the 60s–hippies. He was also unique in another more meaningful way: “Serpico–this apparent hippie, womanizer, hedonist–had dared to do the unheard-of, the unpardonable, in police circles. Having solemnly sworn to uphold the law, he elected to do just that, to enforce it against everybody–and not, in the gran tradition of even the most personally honest policemen, against everybody except other cops. He would not go along with the graft, the bribes, the shakedowns; and he refused to look the other way.” A very interesting read. I found the ending unsatisfactory, even though this edition contained an afterword from Serpico himself dated Fall 1996. The truth is that this is a true story, not a fairy tale. Have things changed much since Serpico’s time in law enforcement? I think we’d all like to hope so. However his memoir created more doubts than certainties for me. Hmmm…food for thought.

This book shows the courage of one New York City policeman who tries to make a difference based on his moral convictions. In the end one is left with great doubt that anything can change when corruption is so ingrained in an insulated police force. With so many questioning today why the police are quick to use deadly force, it's time to read a book like this and see that the problem has deep roots.

This book is an absolute page turner. What Frank Serpico did was simply incredible. During the time that Mr. Serpico was a police officer the corruption was rampant within NYPD and it would of been easy just to take the illegal payoffs and be quiet. Serpico should have a statue and a building named after him but that will never happen. Great book if your interested in what the New York Police Department was like in the 60’s , 70’s then this book will not disappoint you. Great film as well.

Cover was damaged with pages all wrinkly, not worth the cost.

This IS A TRUE STORY!!! This is the story of ONE honest cop/detective that actually tried to clean up crime in the "Big Apple" and got a bullet in his head thanks to his fellow officers due to his bringing in the FBI to clean up the NYPD itself....full of corruption!!!!! This man deserves to be awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR.......strong words, yet few people in the history of our country have sacrificed as much as him and very unfortnately, only lip service is given in support by the Congress of the United States. Frank Serpico is a modern AMERICAN HERO of the HIGHEST ORDER!!!!!!! By the way, Mr. Serpico has to live in a foreign country to protect himself from taking a finalizing "hit" from friends of the corrupt officers of the NYPD.....I'm not saying ALL the officers are corrupt but far too many are!

Appreciated the details included in the book

Any book by Peter Maas is well written and worth reading, as is Serpico, but the only thing wrong with this book is they're no photos; takes some joy out of reading it.

Serpico is a brave and principled man, but I think the book is average, thanks to the author's lackluster and idol-worshipping treatment. The book is mostly narrative -- I think there could have been a lot more riveting dialog. I think these kind of books are best told in the first person. Also, outside of Serpico's heroic crusade, his life was pretty average. So, the author wastes a lot of time just telling the story of an average cop. That contributes to my feeling that the book is too long. I got the feeling Maas felt he had to draw the book out, for some reason. In any case, while I found the hero heroic I found the book just dull.

Happy/satisfied with this purchase

Good book that was the inspiration for the movie with Al Pacino. At my uncles funeral,one of his coworkers came up to my father,who was also NYPD,and said "boy your (late) brother was an honest cop".almost like he had a disease,such was the mentality of that day,this book brings these memories back.

It's OK. I thought the book would be more about undercover work. It's mostly about police corruption in the 60's and 70's New York. I pretty much knew about this from reading all the mob books I've already read.

As a whistleblower myself, I found Frank Serpico's story particularly compelling. It's an interesting read and well written. I also love that my copy was autographed by Frank Serpico.

This man Serpico was my hero in high school and remains my hero today! What he did is a rare and great deed for all of us who live in this country. He just stood by his beliefs that police personal are there to serve and protect, not take advantage, harass, bully, etc. His story is far wilder and outrageous than any friction could be! I'm so glad he lived to tell the tale!

Serpico is an interesting and well written book about the struggles Frank Serpico faced while trying to be an honest cop among the corrupt practices which were ongoing at the time in New York City. His struggles ultimately led to the Knapp Commission and reforms at the NYPD, and set the stage for ethical reforms in policing across America.

Serpico is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down. The movie follows the book almost scene for scene, but I enjoyed the book tremendously.

Read this years ago back in the 70's, also saw the film several times, both are good.

Great story

A man who could not be moved. He Stood Tall, He Stood Alone. A greatly detailed book that is, in its own way, inspirational.

An old story that is always valuable. I had seen the movie but never read the book. Great story. Whatta guy.

Real page turner.

Well-written biography about an amazing man who, although he was afraid for his life, went ahead and did the right thing anyway. And in doing so, changed police departments all over the country for the better.

Great read loved it!

good book

Enjoyed very much the book!

Great story about an honest cop.

read it when I was young now got it for my daughter to read. Nothing like a good NY cop story and true!

Serpico was passionate about his job and his profession. It was delightful to read about a man that had great integrity.

ALL GOOD

EXCELLENT...SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL POLICE RECRUITS AND CHIEFS OF POLICE

Good book, very believable well written Recommended

book was in great condition

This is the true story of an honest New York City police officer who took on the department's corruption. It's a well written story, suspenseful, and educational.

My wife purchased this book for a school project and read the entire thing over night and has since then shared it with all her friends!

The movie with Al Pacino is a classic; the book is just as good.

Thank you.

OK

My husband loves this genre.

Bought this book for a friend that needed it quickly for required reading. Did the trick.

Great read.

have the bio of this remarkable man so I had to have the book

A good book and stories a bit dated

good deal

Thanks a lot

Excellent book!

Bought for someone else

Very engaging account by Peter Marr of Frank Serpico's "lone wolf" stance against the corruption running unabated through the NYPD of the 60's. The book starts right at the beginning as we join Serpico and two other officers on the way to the hospital to get Serpico emergency treatment after being shot. Marr does a wonderful job of relaying to us how Serpico must have felt being, in his mind, the only cop in a force of 32,000 who wasn't taking a monthly "nut" from the "Pad" operations each precinct was vigorously engaged in. Many involved were receiving amounts of money that doubled or tripled their salaries and, by all reports, were so blase about it that they more or less saw it as a perk of the job. Serpico, by Marr's account, comes off as a genuinely decent guy who retained the "change the world" attitude he joined the force with. Tired of turning a blind eye to the corruption he set out to find a sympathetic ear that would at least listen and, at least, offer to start an investigation. This is where Serpico got a feel for the extent and how far "up" the chain the corruption ran. He realized that operations of this size could only run WITH the knowledge of the higher ups. So starts Serpico's crusade to expose the problem. David Durk got involved and together he and Serpico approached higher-ups all the way to the Mayor of NY. As can be expected, politics got in the way at this point. See: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394576489/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for Durk's story. Marr's writing is top notch and keeps you engaged. A lot of names are thrown around which can be a bit confusing but it's relatively easy to keep track of the main players. Some 400 pages in length with an afterword by Serpico himself this book represents an historical turning point that rattled the establishment's cage and brought significant interest to a problem not spoken about prior. Great read.

I made some notes as I read the book of things that interested me: 25. Using a fork and paddle to weave cloth from plants 39. she went to ask for a glass of water for him: I wasn't happy with the writing in the first half. 43. zip gun 50. tag on corpses toe. I never thought about it before. 88. Tomagram 91. Long hair means you are into dope. 124. celery tonic 139. extensive history of other cities and corrupt cops in the mid 1900s 206. pay for protection 218. Serpico felt his life was more in danger from crooked cops than cops. 220, Grand jury is itself an investigative body. 230. Overcoats get girls attentions 304. arrest quota: one whore per night. 311. Serpico had a bone fragment pressing against artery. However in 2014 he's in his mid to late 70s The corruption of the New York police force seems to have been brought on mostly by gambling and drug dealing. The people who were paying cops the pad were the illegal activities. Regular store owners were also getting shaken down quite a bit, but they probably couldn't pay quite as much. Serpico worked hard to avoid the temptations of easy money that the New York cops were receiving. It was a system that many cops can easily fall into. Are cops still taking bribes, shaking down drug dealers and protecting certain criminals today? Most likely they are. But this group tends to be a smaller population of law enforcement. The New York scandal was largely supported by leadership. You can watch Serpico on Youtube to get an idea of his personality. This will enhance the book reading experience.

This book is about a young police officer, his private and professional life. Slowly the officer needed to make decisions about how he was going to live his life in the face of wide spread corruption. It is a gripping and compelling story. This is a well written book. I recommend it. I first read this book in the early 1970s. I was going to college and wanted to be a police officer. I had an overly idealized concept of the police profession. I did become a police officer and served for 39 years. I NEVER forgot about this book. I did not personally witness overt corruption. And I constantly witnessed examples of honorable people acting in an honorable manner. What I did also constantly witness was various forms of moral corruption. There was undeniably incredible peer pressure to "go along to get along". Police work, done properly, can be almost impossibly complicated. Officers become cynical. Most of the most honorable police officers simply looked the other way when officers acted in an unprofessional manner. When an officer finally decides not to go along with what is clearly improper, he can quickly become ostracized. In that context, I can completely identify what Serpico went through. Every day can become an exercise in abject misery regardless of hard one tries to do one's job in a completely honorable manner. It becomes almost impossible to keep one's faith. I do not wish to be a spoiler. I won't give this story away. I often wonder what would have become of Serpico if he had continued in the environment he found himself in. I could fully understand what Serpico went through. Thank You...

SERPICO is a fine true crime retelling of the story of Frank Serpico (Detective NYPD, retired) who battled against endemic corruption among New York's Finest in the 1960s. Peter Maas, who brought us THE VALACHI PAPERS, has written a satisfying but somewhat lightweight recounting of the facts and circumstances of Serpico's career. Maas misses, mostly, in failing to involve the reader fully in the tremendous emotional travail that Serpico felt during his long, frustrating, and ultimately inconclusive one man crusade against police corruption. As a New Yorker, this reviewer has respect for "The Finest." Serpico was hardly the only honest cop in New York circa 1966. But he was one of the only cops to seek to exorcise the demons that beset the police force, root and branch. In this era of high goverment scandal, SERPICO is an important book. Frank Serpico became a Patrolman in 1960, and as he was transferred around the City on various assignments came into contact with cops who routinely shook down criminals---mostly small numbers men and bookmakers with fuzzy Mafia connections---for tens of thousands of dollars per month per precinct, while allowing them to operate. The 1960s fixation on illegal gambling as a major urban problem is an almost charming quirk of this book. The practice was so typical that his fellow officers automatically put Serpico "on the pad." When he refused to take graft he became an object of suspicion. This sense of mistrust was not lessened by Serpico's eccentric (for a cop) lifestyle. Rather than espousing the usual working middle class values of the police community, the life of cigarettes, coffee, doughnuts, wife, kids, and a house in the suburbs, Serpico was a gadfly who loved opera and the ballet, lived in Greenwich Village at the height of the Summer of Love, smoked a pipe, drank tea, traveled internationally, spoke several languages, grew a beard, and, while in plainclothes, affected the dress of the street people and informants with whom he interacted. In addition, Serpico had no "rabbis," no protective contacts within the Department, and did not cultivate the company of most other cops. The truth is that Serpico probably could have served out his career well, but without dramatic distinction, had his fellow officers not been so intent on bringing him into the fold in relation to graft, and had they not become threatening after his refusal to involve himself. Maas does not point to any one incident that convinced Serpico to become an anti-corruption zealot. Rather, Serpico's zealotry grew as his repeated attempts to report illegal activities were rebuffed by the NYPD administration and then the City bureaucracies. Whether intentionally or not, Maas sketches Frank Serpico as almost unbearably self-righteous and looking for a fight as he intentionally busted "protected" criminals, had sometimes dangerous confrontations with other cops, refused to be the fall guy for several internal whitewash investigations, and finally went to "outside agencies," including the New York Times. Maas even recounts Serpico's impromptu conversation with a Mafioso, also named Frank Serpico, who seemed genuinely puzzled by his alter-ego's behavior. Serpico's expose to the Times rocked the NYPD to its foundations. Mayor John Lindsay was forced to appoint the independent Knapp Commission to investigate Serpico's allegations, and the resultant scandal caused the reorganization of the police department from top to bottom as a small army of Commissioners, Inspectors, Detectives, Plainclothesmen and ordinary cops on the beat were convicted or forced to resign. In the midst of this upheaval, Serpico, on narcotics detail, was shot in the face by a pusher. Although he survived and recovered, Serpico's career as a police officer was effectively ended, both by the injury and by the tepid reaction of the police community. It is an open question whether Serpico's partners the night he was shot held back from assisting him, thus putting him further in harm's way, but there is no question that a certain segment of his fellow officers wished him ill and were glad to see him gone. Since the early 1970s, Serpico has continued to be a spokesman for honesty and ethics in government, and speaks, still, to this present day.

I first read this book 40 years ago when it was first published, and I recently re-read it. The story of Frank Serpico, a honest cop who tried to take on corruption in the New York City Police Department, is as engrossing today as it was in 1973. Serpico, a plainsclothes officer, was shot in the face at close range on Feb. 3, 1971, during a narcotics bust. At the time, there was concern that Serpico had been shot by one of his own men, or had been set up. Serpico had angered many of his fellow officers by trying to do something about a system that allowed corruption to flourish. He broke the unwritten rules by not accepting graft, turning dishonest cops in and making gambling arrests of those who were paying the cops for protection. Although corruption was wide spread throughout the NYPD, no cop was willing to come forward until Serpico. NYPD police officers had created their own subculture, and they felt they had immunity in regards to the law. Ironically, it was honest cops in the NYPD who were feared and couldn't be trusted. When Serpico was presented an envelope containing $300 by another officer, he refused to accept it. Then he started to go to the higher ups about the casual graft and corruption. But, he constantly met dead ends and couldn't get anyone to investigate police corruption. Serpico finally went to the press, and the New York Times published an expose about police corruption on April 25, 1970. The Knapp Commission was formed as a result. There were, however, few convictions. And, in the end, Serpico wondered if he had changed anything. Sadly, he added, "There are no real department incentives for cops to be honest."

Excellent journalism. Excellent ideals.A great read on so many levels. A must-read for all those seeking a profession in law-enforcement and politics. Politics and law-enforcement are still gangrenous with corruption - but if everyone had 1/10 the courage, fearlessness and character that Frank Serpico had, a culture of honesty and integrity would prevail instead of the culture of dishonesty, violence and duplicity that we now have.

I'd like to begin by saying that Serpico is a very great man. Without question he is one of my heroes. I respect his complete integrity. I think this book should be required reading. It shows the importance of integrity. However, I have one major criticism of the book. When Peter Maas wrote it, he had his own agenda. He wrote the book after he wrote The Valachi Papers. Valachi placed Italian-Americans in a negative light. So Maas wanted to focus on an extremely positive American of Italian descent. The only problem is that he did so at the cost of giving fair credit to other people who were involved. In the book and film, Serpico's former friend, David Durk, is reduced to a very secondary role. In fact, the book suggests that Durk's reasons for fighting corruption alongside Serpico are politically motivated. I've read other books about Serpico and Durk. Serpico was certainly incorruptible and a paragon of virtue. However, he would not have gone to the Knapp Commission if Durk had not persuaded him to do so. The two fought corruption together. A proper book would have been entitled SERPICO AND DURK. Maas story is quite exciting. Serpico was very much a street cop. Durk, on the other hand, although equally incorruptible, was a desk cop. They are both men of the highest caliber, and both deserve equal praise. Although I'm disappointed about the treatment of Durk, I still think Serpico is must reading. (P.S. Amazon, you should refer readers to Durk's biography, which is entitled CRUSADER. It's certainly not nearly as exciting as SERPICO, but Serpico does play a large part in the book.

Serpico's life was one of arts, literature, classical music and herbal tea all whilst being a NY cop in the 60's. The macho surroundings within the police force didn't take kindly to Franks way of life. After some time in uniform he goes plain clothes, grows his hair and dresses like a hippie. He is as straight as they come, never taking bribes and always looking for the bad guy. But after years as a cop he realizes that not only are his colleagues corrupt the whole force from top to bottom is either on the take or turn a blind eye to it. He's having none of it and his life then takes on the role of not only policing the streets but also of his work mates and employers. This move puts him in serious danger and the book brilliantly takes us through his life as the only cop not on the take. Peter Maas' writing is good, he has you wanting more at every turn of a page. The book is far more detailed about our character Serpico and his cop buddies and for me gives a far more in depth look at his life. I read this after I had seen the movie so having seen Al's potrail of Serpico first may have made the book a tad more enjoyable. I loved this book and read it again after a few years.

The late Peter Maas was a master of investigative reporting. Nowhere are his skills more evident than in this story about Frank Serpico, a police officer who tried to rid the New York City Police Department of the corruption that was rampant amongst its rank and file. Eventually, Serpico's efforts led to the establishment of the Knapp Commission, which would do a large scale investigation of police corruption and the policies and procedures within the Police Department itself that would allow such to flourish. Unfortunately, his efforts initially fell, for the most part, upon deaf ears. Nothing of any real import was really done until Serpico was grievously wounded in a gun battle with a drug dealer in 1971 that left all of New York, including Serpico, wondering as to what really happened? Serpico was a Brooklyn boy who had always looked up to law enforcement and grew up wanting to preserve and protect. Little did he know, until he actually joined the police department, that preserve and protect seemed to pertain to the bribery, graft, and extortion in which many police officers, at the time, engaged. Serpico's initial shock gave way to disillusionment, and he refused to accept the money that other officers took as part of their due. His naiveté was soon replaced by disgust at finding out how rife was the corruption within the New York City Police Department. That soon turned to anger, however, as no one seemed interested in cleaning up the cesspool of corruption in which he worked. Although he tried, all he got was the runaround, until his near fatal shooting. This is a riveting account of Serpico's travails, and time has not diminished the author's riveting account of how Serpico took the system on. The author paints an interesting portrait of a man who was truly one of New York's finest cops. Although somewhat of a maverick and a loner, Serpico was a dedicated police officer, who only desired that his fellow officers follow the very same laws that they were to enforce. Serpico defied the system, and the system nearly defeated him. This book is simply a page-turner, and one that those who like the true crime genre will really enjoy.

This iconoclast, this martyr's biography should be required reading in order for rookies to graduate into the NYPD. I would hope that the force is clean, but after watching and hearing the storm-trooper stop-and-frisk tactics of the Bloombergian era, I doubt it. "Serpico' : A must read for all, especially minority, New Yorkers.

I read somewhere that the book was written to accompany the film (rather than the film being based on the book.) The book certainly reads like a paper film: one dimensional characters, little context, and an emphasis on a good anecdote rather than what's important. Serpico in disguise busting prostitutes in Times Square gets more pages than his testimony in front of the Knapp Commission. The book is good for some stories about law and order in New York 50 years ago. It is ironic that nowadays Serpico would be in trouble for some of his policing tactics even if he didn't accept a dime as a bribe. The book's clear deficiency in thorough reporting means the reader has to be wary about accepting anything in it at face value.

Co-workers, supervisors - and even the people he served - mobbed and bullied Frank Serpico so severely, he never got over it. Even though mobbing has been around since the beginning of time, it is frightening to know that - in America - mobbing is encouraged - even though it can be avoided (thus saving someone's life). Bottom line: mobbing is a management pathology and a management failure. And worse, in all cases, it can be partially 'cured' through prevention policies. Back in Serpico's day, corruption was the rule and the mob was to be feared. Even though this may be partially true today, what employees need to fear the most is management participation in bullying and mobbing. Worse still, human resources takes the bullying and mobbing to a new level. In some cases, they become goons on behalf of an organization. But this should never happen. To understand mobbing fully, a researcher should read this book and highlight scenes that correspond with the points Dr. Heinz Leymann made about mobbing: i.e. attacks on social relations, isolation, etc... Only then, when we fully understand the magnitude of mobbing, can we work on solutions. Solutions we discover today will save someone's life tomorrow.

The truth is often unpleasant. This verity is the highlight of the society surrounding Frank Serpico. It's remarkable how anyone could sustain the mental pressure that was brought upon this person. We're just reading about it. Serpico was living through this very real tension. Maas does a good job of setting up Serpico as the oddball in the group from his unconventional dress sense to his unwillingness to comrpomise his integrity and partake of the pervadiong corruption. His journalistic streak does creep in from time to time and the narrative can occasionaly drag while he is setting up some sequences. This would put it at 4 stars The purpose of the protagonist is an example that is well brought out by the book and that's why I think most people interested in some civic or public office should read it as a source of inspiring personal integrity - this gets it 5 stars.

A really unbelievable story how an NYC cop blew the whisltle on police corruption, continued to work with those same cops and dealy with red nyc tape. I bought this book just prior to photographing Frank Serpioco and he signed it which was pretty cool. Some criticisms of the book are that there are no photos. it is always interesting to see images of the bed guys and what Serpico looked like compared to the Al Pacino image I have of him. Also--some of the detailed Knapp Commission discussion became pretty boring to read through. As with the Donnie Brasco book, the discussion of the good guys(lawyers, commisioners) became tedious. It if for me, more interesting to read how the bad guys were caught and what bad things they were doing that got them caught.

Peter Maas artistically tells a story of a man who always wanted to be a "good cop." Unfortunately, the dream is shattered when Frank Serpico confronts wide-spread corruption in the NYC Police Department. The famous Knapp Commission is a result of Serpico's complaints about corruption on the force. Unfortunately, Peter Maas's story could be told about many large urban police departments. Make no mistake about it, corruption, bigotry, and racism are all a part of law enforcement. It was the case back in the 60's - 70's, and it is still the case today. Consequently, Peter Maas's story about "one good cop" fighting a sea of corruption is still relevant today. The story drags at times. But, otherwise, it is quick reading. It is definitely a story that needs to be read. Hence, I recommend this book. Police corruption is still a current topic. But, more importantly, Serpico's story is one of hope. At least there is "one good cop" out there trying to make a difference. And, knowing this, has made a difference in the way I view law enforcement professionals. That is, they are not all bad.

Along with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," this book should be familiar reading to all Americans. While the 1906 classic exposes the horrors of capitalism, this 1973 masterpiece details the corruption and graft in an institution we have been taught to believe is always noble and honest. The setting and scene is New York, the largest police force in the country. Serpico finds the bad guys and brings them in for booking, only to have his fellow cops pander and play with the gangsters, as if the latter have a closer association than they do with Serpico. Throughout the organization of the force, corruption is rife. Little deals and major attitudes and processes that undermine the civil security force are nicely interwoven into this book, which details Serpico's path through the ranks from a cadet, to a beat cop, to a detective, until the last trial, when Serpico's shooting (possibly by his own force, an incident that opens the book) is more fully examined. Horrible to contemplate, too credible to ignore, this book is a must for all Americans.

Serpico! The name that brings chills to my bones. Serpico and Donnie Brasco are my two heroes in the world of criminal justice. Serpico's life mission is not just cleaning out the bad guys, but bad guys posing as good guys, COPS! And the way he risks his life in the process, simply tells a story of a moral beam behind the corruption of the so called blue wall of silence.

"Serpico" is a powerful piece of reporting by Peter Maas, one of the best true crime writers in America. Hard to believe that the events of this book occurred thrity-odd years ago. The tales of corruption in the New York City police department could have come from the headlines of any big city newspaper today. Maas's genius is how he puts you with his subject to the extent that you are not even aware that he's guiding you through the story. Anyone with an interest in law enforcement should read this book and take it for what it is, a warning against the temptations of the job. As such, it is far from comforting.

Peter Maas (who sadly died in 2001) was best known for his career as the historian of the Mafia, corruption, and whistleblowing. His first book, The Valachi Papers, was an instant best-seller and kicked off the craze for all things Mafia that swept the seventies after its publication. Serpico tells the story of Frank Serpico, the whistleblower cop who was determined to clean up corruption in the police force that he loved so much. It is as much about the policeman code of silence in the face of wrongdoing in the department as it is about Serpico himself. The book was also an instant best-seller at the time of publication and was the seed for an award-winning film by Stanley Lumet and a television series. As a book, Serpico is a fascinating look at the issue of police corruption during the 1970s. Frank Serpico is really a hero of his time, embodying much of the confusion and changing priorities of the era. The prose is quite readable, but suffers a bit from hyperbole and some poor editing which meant that sections were occasionally repeated as the story progresses. Recommended for true crime fans who would rather read about corruption than serial killers. It should also appeal to readers interested in the attitude towards police in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Three and a half stars.