''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
The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...
.
Jesús Jesse Esparza, in a journal article, described the book as one of "several seminal works
hatdeal with the issue of police misconduct".
Contents
The first author, Roth, is a professor at
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...
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.
[
The creators of the book conducted around 100 interviews. The photographs printed in the illustrations are shown without color.]
Reception
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".[ He particularly criticized how the authors support police unions but oppose other unions. He concluded that "Unfortunately, the book's weaknesses outweigh its strengths."][
]
See also
* ''Convict Cowboys
''Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo'' is a 2016 book about the Texas Prison Rodeo, written by Mitchel P. Roth and published by the University of North Texas Press.
Roth described the rodeo's popularity as being a part ...
'' - Book written by Roth
References
External links
*
Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department
' - University of North Texas Press
*
Houston Blue
' available at Project MUSE
2012 non-fiction books
University of North Texas
Houston Police Department
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