Law & Disorder Garners Kudos from New York Times

NJCU History Professor Bruce Chadwick earned praise for his new book, Law & Disorder: The Chaotic Birth of the NYPD (St. Martin’s Press, 2017) in the New York Times Book Review.

Detailing New York City’s early, uncomfortable relationship with organized law enforcement, Chadwick’s book explores the evolution of the police force from the 1840s to the 1870s. It was an era when police tactics lurched from one extreme to another—from ineffectual public safety constables, to head-cracking thugs, to the professional Civil Service force that ultimately found the proper balance to effectively protect and serve.   

“Anyone like me who relishes New York history will enjoy this highlight reel,” New York Times Metro Editor Wendell Jamieson writes. “All the big stories, places and characters of those days are here—James Gordon Bennett and the penny press, the Five Points, Walt Whitman, Horace Greeley, the Astor Place riot, Boss Tweed, the Helen Jewett murder, the death of ‘the beautiful cigar girl,’ to name a few.”

Chadwick, a former crime reporter for the New York Daily News, is the author of 29 books including James and Dolley Madison, Lincoln for President, Triumvirate, and 1858. He is also a sought after public speaker, lecturing on the history of crime and forensics.  

Read the review here: 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/books/review/law-and-disorder-nyp…