In my 20-years as a law enforcement officer, and 18 years of (simultaneous) college studies, I found Dr. George L. Kirkham's story to be one of the most intriguing, interesting, and accurate police stories. It is now a classic in police and criminal justice literature. This is a true story in which Dr. Kirkham, a college professor, becomes a street cop in a tough South Florida city (on a sabbatical from teaching). The reader will learn firsthand the changes - the metamorphosis - that Dr. Kirkham goes through. Would this happen to most any person who becomes a police officer? He describes a tough job, that sees American society often at it's worst. Kirkham learns that police theory and actual police practices are often far apart. (A short vignette of the story appeared as an article entitled "Street Lessons" by George L. Kirkham PhD, in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, March 1974, pp. 14-22). This story is required reading in all my Introduction to Criminal Justice classes.

Professor John Hill - Criminal Justice (retired street cop)

I read this book 24 years ago when I was a rookie policeman, after 25 years on the job I can tell you it accuratly describes how a regular person becomes a "cop". Any person who thinks they know how cops think, especially those so called experts in academia who wouldn,t know a crook until one hit them over the head and stoled their money, should read this book. The author sucks you into the side of society most people don,t want to see or hear about, but once u start readin you won,t put it down. And when your done you will never look at a "cop" the same way again.

I am a Police Officer from the same department that the author worked for. Though this book was written some time ago, it still holds true today. If you ever wonder why police officers are how they are, read this book.