Title: Rookie Cop: The Good Old Days 1968
Author: Mel Ladner
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 979-8676977597
Pages: 263
Genre: Fiction/ Historical
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh
Hollywood Book Reviews
Right around the time Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the main character in Mel Ladner’s story – named Marvin Levy – became a New York City cop. Ladner writes this work of fiction from personal experience, as he is a retired New York City police officer, and spent most of his life in law enforcement work. It was a life, he says, he loved. This book benefits from Ladner’s experience and knowledge, as a lot of the terminology found in it is clearly made up of words only an experienced law enforcement officer would know and use. However, as much as Ladner says he loved his career, he doesn’t paint a very positive picture of New York City’s police force. Rather, one is left with the impression it was quite corrupt in many respects. It’s the tale of Marvin Levy’s first few event-filled days as a New York city cop, and it is far more adventurous than that of your average police officer’s career.
Levy is presented as a heroic figure; a little like an only slightly more law-abiding Clint Eastwood character. Before he is even fully trained as a policeman, Levy is thrown into the chaos of the post-King assassination riots in New York City. It is in this lawless craziness where Levy hits the ground running and ends up arresting rioters on day one of his new job. His success earns him immediate media attention and the nick name ‘Super Jew.’ Levy is Jewish, so his moniker and heroics fit together well.
The reader is expected to suspend disbelief just a little when reading about this modern-day superhero’s various conquests. It’s as though he saves the day nearly everywhere he goes. Like many movie heroes, he even gets the girl, a newscaster that just happens to be a relative of the wealthy Rockefellers. Would a famous big city newscaster fall immediately in love with a rookie police officer? Probably not. Only in the movies or works of fiction – like this one. However, perhaps readers may enjoy living out Levy’s fairytale life through reading this book. It is gritty and messy, and corrupt, but a fairytale of sorts, nevertheless.
The story also details the odd juxtaposition of respect New York citizens had for their police force, and the unbridled corruption of its officers. None of these police officers, for instance, had any problem with taking money for themselves whenever arresting robbery suspects. In fact, they expressly encouraged such graft among the force. One is left wishing even a few of this book’s characters had some outspoken morals. Super Jew has the good fortune to, well, make a fortune from one of his early robbery cases. He shares this wealth with his very own mother, who also sees no moral dilemma in profiting from law enforcement arrest work. Mother, son, and wealthy newscaster end up living happily ever after, by the way. These ends consistently justify the means. Robbing, we’re led to believe, is only wrong when it’s committed by somebody not in uniform. One wonders if this story reflects Ladner’s personal view of his past law enforcement career. Was he also okay with this obvious corruption?
Super Jew, in his first few days as a cop, also gets ‘outed’ as gay, even though he is not a homosexual. He is then commissioned to head up an organization that fights for gay rights among law enforcement officers. Although it’s good to see Super Jew trying to do something positive with his life, one is left, wishing Ladner had explored some of the bigotry New York cops may have experienced, rather than just write that Super Jew stood up for gay rights. The reader learns nothing at all about what it may have been like to be a gay cop in the ‘60s. Certainly, Ladner must have witnessed mistreatment of gays on the force, so why didn’t he write about it in his book?
It is admirable that Mel Ladner drew upon his life experiences to write this book, giving it a broad, cinematic feel. One can only hope New York cops are not as immoral as this work of fiction suggests they are. I think that any fan of an action story and historical fiction will enjoy Rookie Cop: The Good Old Days 1968.