Re: RARA-AVIS: Realism and Reality (Wambaugh)
Mario Taboada (matrxtech@sprintmail.com)
Thu, 13 Aug 1998 11:04:43 -0500
I've heard from knowledgeable people that Joseph Wambaugh,
through his
own experience and staying up to date by direct contact with
the
department, does an excellent job at portraying the LAPD in his
crime
novels. As a reader, works like _The Glitter Dome_ and _The
Choirboys_
made a strong impression on me, not least because they show
the
"messiness" of police work in a large jungle-city like LA. They
also
show the human side of police officers, including errors of
judgment.
Wambaugh also presents police work as team work, where the team
takes on
several cases at the same time. I think that, even more than
McBain,
Wambaugh developed the "hardboiled procedural" as an
interesting blend
of actual police work, crazy and bizarre crimes and characters,
and the
city itself as a dynamic backdrop. I would urge those who don't
know
Wambaugh to give his books a try - without the expectation that
crimes
will be solved "neatly" or solved at all. He is also very
funny.
Regards,
MT
#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to
majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.