In this “inspiring inside tour of the human toll, and the satisfactions of becoming a cop” (The New York Times), Irish immigrant and retired NYPD homicide detective Luke Waters takes us inside the New York City police department and offers a glimpse at the grit, the glory, and the sometimes darker side of the police force. Growing up in the rough outskirts of northern Dublin at a time when joining the guards, the army, or the civil service was the height of most parents’ ambitions for their children, Luke Waters knew he was destined for a career in some sort of law enforcement. Dreaming of becoming a police officer, Waters immigrated to the United States in search of better employment opportunities and joined the NYPD. Despite a successful career with one of the most formidable and revered police forces in the world, Waters’s reality as a cop in New York was a far cry from his fantasy of serving and protecting his community. Over the course of a career spanning more than twenty years—from rookie to lead investigator, during which time he saw New York transform from the crack epidemic of the nineties to the low crime stats of today—Waters discovered that both sides of the law were entrenched in crooked culture. Balanced with wit and humor, NYPD Green features colorful characters Waters has met along the way as well as a “surprisingly frank” (Kirkus Reviews) and critical look at the darker side of police work. A multifaceted and engaging narrative about the immigrant experience in America, Waters’s story is also one of personal growth, success, and disillusionment—a rollicking journey through the day-to-day in the New York Police Department.

The population of Ireland is five million, but 70 million people worldwide call themselves Irish. Here, Tim Pat Coogan travels around the globe to tell their story. Irish emigration first began in the 12th century when the Normans invaded Ireland. Cromwell's terrorist campaign in the 17th century drove many Irish to France and Spain, while Cromwell deported many more to the West Indies and Virginia. Millions left due to the famine and its aftermath between 1845 and 1961. Where did they all go? From the memory of the wild San Patricios Brigade soldiers who deserted the American army during the Mexican War to fight on the side of their fellow Catholics to Australia's Irish Robin Hood: Ned Kelly, Coogan brings the vast reaches of the Irish diaspora to life in this collection of vivid and colourful tales. Rich in characterization and detail, not to mention the great Coogan wit, this is an invaluable volume that belongs on the bookshelf of every Celtophile.

The New York Police Department is an iconic symbol of one of the world’s most famous cities. The blue uniforms of the men and women who serve on the force have long stood for integrity and heroism in the work to serve and protect the city’s residents. And yet, as in any large public organization, the NYPD has also suffered its share of corruption, political shenanigans, and questionable leadership. In The NYPD’s First Fifty Years Bernard Whalen, himself a long-serving NYPD lieutenant, and his father, Jon, consider the men and women who have contributed to the department’s past, both positively and less so. Starting with the official formation of the NYPD in 1898, they examine the commissioners, politicians, and patrolmen who during the next fifty years left a lasting mark on history and on one another. In the process, they also explore the backroom dealings, the hidden history, and the relationships that set the scene for the modern NYPD that so proudly serves the city today.

Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire, the best selling Star Wars novel of all time, has crafted a fresh, suspenseful tale of conflict in New York City that threatens to escalate into all-out genocidal warfare. For seventy-five years the Greens and the Grays have lived quietly among us in the shadows of New York, alien refugees from a war of attrition that utterly destroyed the rest of their kind. Passing as everyday citizens, yet with powers and technologies unknown to humanity, each group has long believed that they are all that remain of their old world and their terrible conflict. But now, to their mutual surprise, they have found each other, and the old hatreds and fears have once again risen to the surface. And each side is preparing again for war. On a cold October night, Roger and Caroline Whittier, a young couple struggling with their marriage, are accosted at gunpoint, and an unexpected burden is thrust upon them: Melantha Green, a twelve-year-old girl snatched from the hands of a peace coalition consisting of both Greens and Grays. The coalition had been preparing to cold-bloodedly sacrifice her in a last-ditch effort to prevent the impending battle . . . and it desperately wants her back. As Roger and Caroline strive to protect Melantha and to understand the alien cultures they have suddenly been thrust into, they find aid in unlikely places. They're joined in their efforts by NYPD Detective Thomas Fierenzo, who's determined to prevent what he believes to be an impending gang war, and by Otto Velovsky, a former Ellis Island clerk who was present at the very beginning of the aliens' new life on earth. Unlikely allies, unlikely heroes...and they have just one week to find a way to prevent New York City from becoming a battlefield the likes of which the world has never known...

As debates about defunding US police forces continue, this book offers an enlightening historical overview of one of the largest metropolitan contingents: the New York City Police Department. The NYPD is America’s largest and most celebrated law enforcement agency. This book examines the history of policing in New York City, from colonial days and the formation of the NYPD at the turn of the twentieth century, through 1930s battles with the Mafia to the Zero Tolerance of the 1990s. Jules Stewart explores political influence, corruption, reform, and community relations through stories of the NYPD’s commissioners and the visions they had for the force and the city, as well as at the level of cops on the beat. This book is an indispensable chronicle for anyone interested in policing and the history of New York.

"Originally published in 2015 in Ireland by Hachette Books"--Title page verso.

Whoever said, "There are eight million stories in the naked city," was never a New York City police officer. For America's largest city, eight million stories is a drop in the bucket. To maintain law and order in a city that never sleeps, you'll need a highly trained police department. Creative criminals, backstabbing bosses, and a turnstile criminal justice system are just a few of the many obstacles NYPD members face on a daily basis. Fat bastards, faux titles, and a mysterious case of diarrhea-no two days were ever the same throughout my NYPD career. Did you know that hanging your gun belt on the back of a bathroom stall could result in a deadly game of tug-of-war? Would you believe a kiss-ass cop sent to get a chief's lunch was thrown out of a deli after trying to cut through a line of hungry customers? What about the cranky robbery suspect who was pummeled in a police lineup by his fellow fillers? Or the overzealous flatfoot who was punched in the nose by a startled dog owner after leaping out of the woods to issue her a summons for failing to pick up after her dog? Retired NYPD Detective Vic Ferrari provides a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at the New York City Police Department, complete with colorful characters and almost unbelievable stories. If you enjoy true crime, Live PD, or are curious about how the NYPD works, you've come to the right place.

A Cop's Tale focuses on New York City's most violent and corrupt years, the 1960s to early 1980s. Jim O'Neil - a former NYPD cop - delivers a rare look at the brand of law enforcement that ended Frank Lucas's grip on the Harlem drug trade, his cracking open of the Black Liberation Army case, and his experience as the first cop on the scene at the Dog Day Afternoon bank robbery.

A native of Long Island, New York, Pete Young first grew cannabis on the roof of a friend’s apartment building when he was fifteen years of age. A fascination with marijuana cultivation quickly followed, with Young mastering the specifics of HID lighting, hydroponics, water polymers, genetics, organic fertilization, soil mix, outdoor growing and seed generation. After permanently relocating to southwestern Ontario in the late-1980s, Young took part in one of the first constitutional challenges to Canada’s drug laws following a police raid on the Great Canadian Hemporium, a head shop in London, Ontario. Around this time, Young befriended a young man whose severe cystic fibrosis was aided by one thing only – marijuana consumption. Young started growing marijuana for medical users, and over the next twenty years became one of the biggest producers and distributors of illicit medical marijuana in Canada. A once-frequent contributor to High Times magazine, and a regular medal winner at the international Cannabis Cup, Young has had to overcome every obstacle facing the guerilla grower, including crop theft, forest fire, police arrest, bankruptcy, home invasion, physical assault and, perhaps most intimidating of all, hungry male deer. In 2015, Young stepped onto the right side of the law when he was named master grower at Indiva, a licensed, government-sanctioned producer of medical marijuana. Riveting, funny and unsparingly truthful, Master Grower recalls one man’s transformation from renegade gardener to boardroom participant, a high-octane voyage that also captures the way in which a culture’s attitude toward its illegal substances can, and will, evolve.

Covering everything from hate groups and extremist exploits to Black church arsons and the fall out violence from 9/11; this is an important collection that sheds much-needed light on this growing problem.