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Serpico
Serpico
Author: Peter Maas
Back cover: — The incredible, but true, story of the cop who defied the system! "The only oath I ever took was to enforce the law - and it didn't say against everybody except other cops." — Serpico. The bearded Greenwich Village loner, eleven-year veteran of the force, opera lover, ladies' man, crack shot, karate expert, undercover nark who put it...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780553082449
ISBN-10: 0553082442
Publication Date: 1974
Pages: 314
Edition: 2nd
Rating:
  • Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
 5

4.4 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Bantam Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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reviewed Serpico on + 10 more book reviews
It is a pretty decent read. We've heard the stories about corrupt cops that's nothing new, or even cops being bought out by the mob. But it is a nice insight of the NYPD in that era it was well written, doesn't drag stories, and doesn't have large dry parts.
Handlebars avatar reviewed Serpico on + 153 more book reviews
An amazing story of the corruption of the NYPD and the man who risked his life to help stop it.
reviewed Serpico on + 125 more book reviews
This is an older book - a true story about a cop who couldn't be bought.
Piper avatar reviewed Serpico on
The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority." Into this maelstrom came a working-class, Brooklyn-born Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced - or bought - and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.


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