Rating: 
Summary: Better Like Police Work!
Review: Parts of this book really sing, and the author can definitely write. But you better be just fascinated with police work, because otherwise you'll go numb. Conlon gives us every possible detail. I'm not sure we need them all.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Depressing and Big Yawn
Review: The laughable self-absorbed deluded NYC cop persona aside this is a rather long, dull read. Not an intellectual that's for sure...and a tedious bore of a narrator. Because TV makes the NYPD look so exciting and romantic wannabe 'blue bloods' like Conlon think there's a lifetime of Dostoevsky-esque material in their rather mundane jobs of knocking and entering and arresting and filling out miles of paper then having a drink with the buddies. It's not terribly exciting no matter how many times he inssits that it is. Read "Crime and Punishment" instead for more stimulation, joy and insight; after a while I started praying that someone would just assault me with a plunger already.
Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling
Review: I found this to be simply brilliant!Raymond Austin
Television director of The Saint, The Avengers, Hawaii Five-O, Hart to Hart, Vegas, Quincy, Magnum, P.I., AirWolf, Spencer: For Hire, JAG and many others. And the author of, "The Eagle Heist" and "Dead Again" from the Beauford Sloan Mystery series.
Rating:
Summary: Best book of 2004?
Review: Ed Conlon's "Blue Blood" is a masterpiece: a gritty, no-nonsense look at law enforcement in New York City, with prose that rises far above the standard police tell-all. Part memoir, part expose, this book grabs your attention, and holds it while Conlon takes you through the criminal justice system of New York, all the while pointing out its absurdity and promise. Although it's a deeply personal book, Conlon's observations are so sharp and fair that you will trust his reporting. At this point, you have to consider this book as a serious candidate for most literary awards.
Rating:
Summary: The Compelling Truth of New York¿s Finest. 10 Stars!
Review: Edward Conlon brings you the gripping reality of the behind-the-scenes life, emotions, and realism of what it is like to be a police officer in NYC. I read this with great interest, where the truth Conlon wrote about completely corresponded with the many facts my Grandfather spoke of decades ago when he received a gold medal of honor as a NYC Sergeant. There is so much reality in this book, sometimes tragic reality, that every police officer must endure, while they protect and serve, and put their lives on the line, as they encounter the horrors resulting from inhumane acts that they have to personally witness and attend to. Overworked, and underpaid, police officers have many stories to tell, many memories they have to block out or grow a thick skin in order to continue on, despite horrific cases and losses of colleagues that have put their lives on the line to protect others. Edward Conlon brings you the stories, and the facts in an incredible page-turner of a book. BLUE BLOOD is by far one of the best, if not THE best book that brings you the reality of the life of a police officer. It is all too true, a phenomenal read that reads like a 5 star novel, however, it brings you the truth that is larger than fiction. Highly recommended for its authenticity, and reality. Barbara Rose, author of, 'Individual Power' and 'If God Was Like Man'
Rating:
Summary: Too long, rambling
Review: I don't know, maybe this book will appeal primarily to police officers.... I thought it went on way too long. A lot of "navel gazing" detail, without enough dramatic tension to keep moving the reader forward.
Very literate, and the writer certainly knows the terrain. But I had some trouble finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: Hearty and Good
Review: Edward Conlon's "Blue Blood" is the most absorbing piece of writing on New York street life since Claude Brown's "Manchild in the Promised Land." It's thoughtful, hard-boiled, and funny. Conlon uses his work as a cop as a window onto the history of New York City and its ongoing hard life. I haven't read a book I've admired so much since "Gather Round Me: The Best of Irish Popular Poetry."
Rating: 
Summary: Joins my list of favorites
Review: Conlon does a masterful job, and this book immediatly joins my list of favorites to sit right at the top, next to Chicago cop Gina Gallo's brilliant "Armed and Dangerous." Essential reading for anyone who wants a taste of the real thing.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Bloods is Brilliant
Review: Ed Conlon has written a masterful book. It is an illuminating read about his experiences on the job and the history of the NYPD. If this book doesn't win awards, I will eat my hat.
Rating:
Summary: A long look at a small sliver
Review: Like the reviewer above, I am a NYC police officer too, and I thought this book was pretty fair. It gives you one picture of what it is like to work our job in our city, but there is so much more left to say. The world of drug enforcement is probably one of the most common topics in all of policing these days, and Detective Conlon's time in Housing was predominantly about this, so other aspects of policing are left out. But there is only so much one man can do... I think the book is at its best when it tells the reader what many cops truly feel about things that have been in the news, such as the Diallo and Louima incidents. It gives the public a new insight into the cop's mind. The book is a little long, and I think that's because it might try to cover too much. There are 47,000 cops in NYC and 8,000,000 residents, so it is impossible to ever give a full picture of the story of policing the city. Still, if I were a civilian interested in learning about one perspective of urban policing, I would read this book.
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