Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department is a 2012 non-fiction book by Mitchel P. Roth and Tom Kennedy, published by the University of North Texas Press, chronicling the history of the Houston Police Department.[1]
Jesús Jesse Esparza, in a journal article, described the book as one of "several seminal works [that] deal with the issue of police misconduct".[2]
Contents edit
The first author, Roth, is a professor at Sam Houston State University and the second, Kennedy, at one time wrote newspaper articles for the Houston Post. The book was produced in a six year period after the Houston Police Officers' Union hired both authors in 2004. The authors consulted archives as part of their research.[1]
The creators of the book conducted around 100 interviews. The photographs printed in the illustrations are shown without color.[3]
Reception edit
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Brian D. Behnken of Iowa State University, in his review in The Journal of Southern History, criticized the book not having "a clear thesis" and a "lack of a consistent, critical, and analytical focus".[4] He praised the inclusion of women and ethnic minority police officers and "some interesting facts".[4] He particularly criticized how the authors support police unions but oppose other unions. He concluded that "Unfortunately, the book's weaknesses outweigh its strengths."[4]
See also edit
- Convict Cowboys - Book written by Roth
References edit
- ^ a b Pearson, Jennifer (2012-11-25). "Book details HPD history back to the 1830s". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
- ^ Esparza, Jesús Jesse (Spring–Summer 2023). "Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South". 30 (1): 45–78. ISSN 0735-8342 – via Ebscohost/Wikipedia Library.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Accession number: 163900607. - ^ "Houston blue; the story of the Houston Police Department". Reference & Research Book News. Portland, Oregon: Book News, Inc. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2023-10-31 – via thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ a b c Behnken, Brian D. (May 2014). "Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department (review)". The Journal of Southern History. 80 (2). Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
External links edit
- Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department - University of North Texas Press
- Houston Blue available at Project MUSE
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