Кубето

by Joseph Wambaugh, Емил Христов

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best—a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor—they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Police, Detective, Novels

318 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 1972

About the author

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr. was an American writer known for his fictional and nonfictional accounts of police work in the United States. Many of his novels are set in Los Angeles and its surroundings and feature Los Angeles police officers as protagonists. He won three Edgar Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. Before his writing career Wambaugh received an associate of arts degree from Chaffey College and joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1960. He served for 14 years, rising from patrolman to detective sergeant.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entertaining, somewhat rambling tale is the narration of an LAPD-beat cop retiring in three eventful days. I think it was made into a TV cop series by the same name, starring George Kennedy. I vaguely remember watching it. I enjoy reading cop novels, so it was in my wheelhouse. Lots of police jargon is used as well as male humor. Solid read.

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good solid piece of police fiction and is arguably one of Joseph Wambaugh's most famous works. Bumper Morgan is a career L.A.P.D. police officer. A twenty-year man who has never done anything, but work patrol. While over-invested in his work ,and not above taking free meals from restaurants in his patrol area, he is an honest cop. Morgan views the meals as being something that the owners want to do for him. He isn't given the meals in exchange for breaking the law. For Morgan it isn't corruption and he does like to eat. Conservative (with a small c), World War II veteran (so many officers were up until the mid to late seventies), and self-taught. Bumper isn't a sophisticated man, but he isn't ignorant either. He's pragmatic, slightly cynical,likable and believes in his job even though he knows that he and his fellow officers have an almost impossible task.

The story covers the last three days of Bumper's career and it is a first person narrative. It moves rapidly and is almost stream of consciousness in how it flows. Though written over forty years ago there is much about Bumper and the fictional portrayal of his profession that still rings true in 2013. The technology has changed, but not people or the messes that they create. Wambaugh has never made his officers cardboard cut-outs. His officers are not of the Jack Webb school and I appreciate that. The fact that flawed Human beings still manage to do the work says more about them than the squeaky-clean caricatures that you see in "Adam-12" and "Dragnet". Bumper Morgan is flawed, but he's out there doing the work. Many don't appreciate him ,or like him, but he's still doing the job.

All in all a good novel. At times Wambaugh relies on stereotypes and clichés with a "shocking ending" that really isn't all that shocking. I wasn't surprised by the ending and ,actually, I expected it. However that's okay. Call it the work of new and still inexperienced author, but one with ability.

Bumper Morgan isn't a complicated character with unexplored depths. Ultimately he's just a Blue Knight which means a Human being wearing a somewhat tarnished suit of armor, but he's still wearing it.

I'll give it three stars. Worth reading if you're interested, but don't expect car chases, gun-battles and thrills and chills. Bumper Morgan is a police officer doing police work not a Hollywood stunt man.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novel of the last three days before retirement of a 20 year veteran beat officer. What could possibly go wrong?

When I first read this ground breaking police novel about 50 years ago it had a big impact on me and a lot of others just entering or considering a law enforcement career. The Blue Knight and Wambaugh's novel, The New Centurians were required reading in many college law enforcement programs around the country.

[Jack Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want this book to end.

[Christian D. D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating snapshot of the 1970s LAPD

I've known about Joseph Wambaugh for many years, having grown up in Los Angeles, catching a few episodes of "The Blue Knight" TV series re-runs (starring George Kennedy) as a kid, and eventually embarking on a law enforcement career myself--mind you, I was Federal, not LAPD or LASD, but I've worked with (and befriended) enough SoCal municipal cops in my lifetime to be able to forge a common bond with them ("the bond of the badge," if you will).

It was one particular retired LAPD officer within my circle of friends (one of my USC Trojan football tailgating buddies) who mentioned personally knowing and working with Joe Wambaugh and thus motivated to add a couple of Joe's books to my e-reader, and I started off with "TBK."

I can now see why Mr. Wambaugh is such a popular author, with book critics and the general book-buying public alike, with cops and non-cops alike. An excellent writing style, hard-nosed, gritty, witty, and with an excellent eye for detail. Officer Bumper Morgan is a fascinating character who gives 21st century readers a very revealing insight into the mindset of L.A. cops and a snapshot of life in L.A. in general during the pre-PC days of the early 1970s. Never a dull moment, and an ending that'll hit you like a ton of bricks.


--p. 8: "A one-man foot beat’s the best job in this or any police department. It always amuses policemen to see the movies where the big hood or crooked politician yells, 'I’ll have you walking a beat, you dumb flatfoot,' when really it’s a sought-after job." Haha, tell that to Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery) in "The Untouchables."

--p. 14: "Women are like cops, they sense things." Women's intuition = Cop's intuition? So, does that go double for female cops? (Contrast that with Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad": "It's true what they say, cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll also leave you feeling hollow inside.")

--p. 15: "'See that man,' she said. 'That’s a policeman. He’ll come and get you and put you in jail if you’re bad.' She gave me a sweet smile, very smug because she thought I was impressed with her good citizenship. Frankie, who was only a half head taller than the kid, took a step toward them and said, 'That’s real clever, lady. Make him scared of the law. Then he’ll grow up hating cops because you scared him to death.'" Reminds me of my maternal cousins who gave me an abnormal fear of cops as a 4 y/o kid, claiming that police arrested babies for crying.

A cigar aficionado! Way to go, Bumper!

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on a list of recommended mysteries, and was found in the mystery section--yet I don't think it really belongs there--both because this is no whodunnit, but also because it transcends that genre. We follow "Bumper" Morgan through the last three days of this beat in 1970s Los Angeles before he retires after 20 years on the police force.

And it's a great voice for a great character. Bumper is both cynical and idealistic--a knight with slightly tarnished armor--he feels very real. He's getting to an age where he can't do the job anymore that holds him in its grip--he's fat, he can't run, he has gas and his eyes aren't as sharp as they once were. And as his best friend and fellow cop Cruz Segovia tells him, the job is a whore, taking without giving, and his only hope is being able to accept love and a life beyond it.

I love how Bumper is not just allowed to make mistakes, but that those mistakes have consequences. There's a bit of Don Quixote and Willy Loman in Bumper. In his introduction, Michael Connelly says a great work of crime fiction tells not of how a cop works his cases, but how the cases work him, and by any measure this is a great work of crime fiction on those terms that made me think all through about what it must be like to be a cop.

[Debra Pawlak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Joseph Wambaugh fan. His books are almost always funny, touching, and very entertaining, but this one I found lacking. We work the streets with William 'Bumper' Morgan, an L.A. cop on the verge of retiring. Throughout his twenty years, he has been a decent cop, but regrets that he hasn't done more. Bumper is engaged to a professor and has plans to move to San Francisco. For me, there was a lot of rambling on as the story unfolds through Bumper's viewpoint on his last few days as a policeman. True to Wambaugh form, there was a twist at the end, but it wasn't enough to salvage the storyline, which seemed to be lacking. Bumper was not always a likeable character and it was hard to sympathize with him. I guess in the end, this book just wasn't for me, but I am still a huge Joseph Wambaugh fan! I would recommend his books to anyone--just maybe not this one!

[Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

La ronda del piacere...

Un Wambaugh minore ma non per questo meno accattivante nel mostrare le vicende dei suoi poliziotti.
Qui abbiamo gli ultimi tre giorni di Bumper prima di andare in pensione, poliziotto di quartiere in servizio da vent'anni che grazie a un ritmo lento ma necessario ci porta tra quelle piccole realtà criminali agli angoli delle strade dove si incontrano sbandati, prostitute, giocatori d'azzardo e tante altre situazioni a volte divertenti - il suo insaziabile appetito culinario - a volte tragiche.

E' l'umore della storia a riempire le pagine più che la storia in sé.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting book. This book is set around the last three days of a street cop’s beat before retiring and marrying the woman of his dreams. He is unapologetic and hungry in both appetites and justice. It was not what I was expecting from Wampaugh but was delighted nonetheless.

[Stephen McQuiggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like sitting in a bar being regaled with old cop yarns - given that Wambaugh was still on the beat when he wrote this, it's safe to assume a lot of them are rooted in truth. Like a crack crazed burglar - hard to put down.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blue Knight captures life and policing Los Angeles in the 1970s, and the end of beat police through Bumper Morgan's story.

[Mary Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Blue Knight

I'm not going to give any spoilers, but this book is truly like many cop's lives. My Blue Knight retired and it's a completely different world out on the streets now....in many ways. It's a different story from Bumper's days and who can say that they are better off now than they were then? This book made me laugh and made me cry. Definitely a good read.

[Bruce Snell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is something of a companion piece to Joseph Wambaugh's The New Centurions which told the story of 3 officers at the start of their careers. In this, the second of Wambaugh's books about the LAPD we meet Bumper Morgan a beat cop with three days left to retirement. The story is told as a first person stream of consciousness by Bumper as he goes thru his last days as a cop.

For me Bumper is a difficult person to like. It would be easy to say he is not a very good cop - he takes something from virtually everyone on his beat - free meals, shopping, services, or whatever they have that he can use. He is lazy - he takes three meal breaks during every shift, and then rests for a while after eating. He refuses to write traffic tickets; he lies on arrest reports; and thru it all, he believes he is doing a good job because he makes arrests.

On the other hand, as we get deeper into Bumper's life, we discover that Bumper really does care about the people on his beat. He knows all of them by name - he stops and talks to them, letting them know that they are being protected. He has no overt prejudices - he likes everyone on his beat, Asians, blacks, Hispanics, Arabs, Jews, everyone.

And from the beginning it was clear that the story must end in tragedy. We can only guess at the nature of the tragedy (and I was mostly wrong), but when it comes, it is everything a book like this deserves. Another reminder that Wambaugh was as good as it gets in his prime.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was still working as a policeman when this book was published so I felt like I was getting the true inside story of walking a beat in L.A. during the early seventies. "Bumper" Morgan is a larger than life character and this chronicle of his last few days walking a beat before retirement really showed both the highs and lows of police work.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a twenty year police veteran "Bumper" Moraan is two days from retirement. The streets of Los Angles force him to face his personal demons.

[Brian Durfee · Rating 4 out of 5]

another fun true-to-life cop novel from Wambaugh.

[Mike Kisil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first introduction to this policeman -turned author who first found prominence in the turbulent years of the 1970s. There is a temptation to view his novels as an apology for the type of "policing" that was needed at that time in a Los Angeles that current residents might not recognise. This book depicts that reality with an honesty that is not sensational and reading it today you see that it stands up well as a novel of its time.
The main character, "Bumper" Morgan , is a street-wise, "old school" policeman, that we meet three days from retirement and we encounter the characters, both good and bad, that shape his work ethic when he sometimes strays from doing things "by the book" in order to protect the local citizenry from harm from an increasingly-violent criminal element that inhabit his beat. Wambaugh is most effective in conveying the world-weariness of this man. As the type of world he helps to police is gradually unveiled, there is an ongoing tension in the narrative, where the reader is allowed to wonder whether there will be tragedy on the final page.
For me the only flaw in the creation of Morgan is the amount of food he puts away during the course of a day's work. Morgan realises that the "freebie" meals he gets from the local cafes and restaurants are a "tacit" reward for the deterrence his simple presence provides but his weight is noted as being 275 lbs, which makes it more likely that he will end his days with a coronary rather than a bullet. However there is an episode where he participates in the raid on the office of an illegal bookmaker and the strain that the physicality of his actions affect his body, really reverberate off the page,
There is true skill in Wambaugh's writing that puts him in the same league as Ed McBain and his 87th Precinct novels. The real shame is that even now, the police procedural novel is not always regarded as "serious" writing by the book award committees. Otherwise a book like this would have a wider audience than it has.

[Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The local public library had a book sale with an offer you couldn’t refuse - all of the books that you could fit into a box for $2. I picked up an old paperback version of The Blue Knight and threw it into my box. It was a great decision.

Bumper Morgan is an LAPD cop who is just days from retirement. He has a great post-retirement job lined up in Northern California. Also, he’s set to be married to a woman who adores him. The problem is that Bumper’s already married - to his job. Which life will Bumper choose?

Those who’ve read Joseph Wambaugh’s books will find much that is familiar in The Blue Knight. Wambaugh discourses on the great damage done to public safety through liberal court rulings. Bumper shows much better “horse sense” than the judges when he deals with Los Angeles’ criminals. As with all of Wambaugh’s books, it’s a very entertaining ride.

A good subplot involves food. Bumper weighs 275 pounds and he’s a certified foodie. He eats all of his meals in different restaurants run by people from Los Angeles’ many ethnic groups. At each restaurant, Bumper is treated as a hero and he is never allowed to pay for a meal. Wambaugh gives lavish descriptions of all of the good food that Bumper eats.

The lone drawback of The Blue Knight is that it’s easy to guess the ending. As the pages ticked down, I realized that Wambaugh’s lack of wiggle room meant that the book could end only one way. So, with the Blue Knight, it’s the journey, not the destination that matters.

But the journey is enjoyable. Wambaugh’s early books are uniformly terrific. I rarely keep books, but I might have to make an exception with The Blue Knight.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

started finished 12th december 2025 good read three stars i liked it no less no more kindle library loaner have read about six from wambaugh joseph all recent all good reads well worth a read conjure up whatever labels work to give you an idea of what the story is...if it matters. stories about cops in l.a. this one has 98 reviews now...for a story available since 1972...seems like a crying damn shame. break out more of those stories about cock sucking and butt fucking, mentally challenged men dressed as women, and let us all swoon away to the ground. there's a line in one of his stories...to do with the vice squad...something about the law breakers they're going after...that soon those acts will be legal.
meanwhile, in too many fucking states they're licensing illegal fucking aliens to drive big rigs and of course those assholes are killing people on the highway. and lo...let us all condemn the "hate" and condemn those against immigration! stupid fucks! it's ILLEGAL fucking immigration when they sneak across the fucking border. this world is so completely fucked.

there's some other truths in wambaugh's stories...that last one...new centurions...to do with the riots in watts...and what some of the hispanic characters say of the "white" race...the gringos....and we're seeing it every fucking day on the news. bunch of assholes fiddling.

[Chuckles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story follows LAPD patrolman "Bumper" Morgan, a giant who thrived amidst the grime of the crime ridden city streets he patrolled, during his last few days on the job before retirement. Bumper seemed to believe in the style of the ends justifies the means in police work, and had no problems violating regulations, breaking the law himself, and using violence to bring justice that 'he knew' deserved it but otherwise would have gotten away with it. Many in these neighborhood love him, because he keeps the criminals in line like other cops could not. But he hasn't been able to take his brand of justice to everyone and he's leaving some unfinished business behind for what waits for him in retirement.

I really didn't care for old Bumper, though I understand many did. The person who recommended this book as Wambaugh's best just raved about the end, which, I just found a bit ho-hum and really, not something to celebrate, not "cool". I know Wambaugh made Bumper a bit of a caricature, he basically put all the zany, crazy, wildman, hardass traits that you find in a group of cops, and put them all in Bumper, but tried to make him have a heart of gold deep down, but it just didn't work for me, I couldn't look past the stuff he did even if it was made clear that almost everyone he abused "had it coming to them". That's not reality, and Wambaugh was being manipulative by writing it that way to justify Bumper's abuses. The ending was an explosive climax and well written, I just didn't like the character enough to care all that much. I read this in the 90s and while it was one of Wambaughs first books and written two decades before, it really didn't feel "dated" in style, though it was clear it was set in that era. I guess it just felt like everything going on, the whole theme and plot could just as easily be occurring in the time I was reading it, which I guess says something about the lack of progress in policing during those years.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

After author Wambaugh's debut novel of a class of police rookies, The New Centurions (1970), he followed it up with this 1972 novel of a police veteran about to retire.

Police Novels - Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor--they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge.

[Janine Pady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read a Wambaugh book when I was 13 years old and I remember it still. This book was, for me, a good read - a genuine look at a past we don't particularly mourn, but some parts we would like to still have. The reality of the story, the attention Bumper paid to those around him, the lifestyle of a policeman at that time - I enjoyed the read. He is an imperfect person, doing the best he can. His flaw is that he's "all in" - you see this with his eating, with his concern for those he cares about, and for his job. Even though he's about to retire, he still cleans his badge, shines his shoes, and wants to get arrests.
I felt that he was mostly liked and appreciated by those around him - he needed that.
I am not 100% sure about his ending - for me it's open to interpretation. In any case, it was sad.

[John McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure this was quite the shocking and popular novel when it came out around 1970. Now it just seems an anachronism, like a time capsule of street life in the USA in the late 60s and early 70s. A difficult time for the USA (Vietnam protests were at their height and racism as bad as its ever been), but then again when isn't it a difficult time for the USA? The likeable yet mildly corrupt and dishonest street cop, "Bumper", is the protagonist and the story follows him in a first-person style as he makes his way through three days on the job. Much happens, some good, some bad. The interesting idioms and colloquial speech of the times shines through and would seem incomprehensible to many people today. So, the novel hasn't really stood the test of time yet it is readable and worth reading. Human nature hasn't changed in 50+ years and there is plenty of that in this book.

[Aykut Kısa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oldukça keyifli bir roman. Meslekte 20.yılını doldurmaya ve artık emekli olmaya hazırlanan bir polisin Los Angeles sokaklarındaki 3 gününü okuyoruz. Tabi karakterimiz Morgan -lakabı ve herkesin çağırdığı şekliyle Babalık- geçmişte yaşadığı anıları da paylaşıyor ara ara.
Şimdi kitap bir polisin hikayesi dedim ama kitap şu saydığım özellikleri barındırmıyor: Gerilim,macera,baskın,havada uçuşan mermiler... Daha çok emekli olmadan evvelki 3 günü anlatan bir günlük gibi. Ama oldukça keyifli bir anlatım var. Sürekli yemek yiyen bir polis memuru da okumak karnınızı sürekli harekete geçirecektir. :) Çeviri ise harika.
Keyifli vakit geçirmek için okunabilecek bir kitap olduğunu düşünüyorum. Kafa dağıtmak için ideal.

[Judy Steiner Marino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but...

The story was good ... Sometimes sad, sometimes funny and sometimes annoying. I understand how these kind of things happen in the life of a cop ... And the things we go thru deciding on retirement. Here's the but ... The ending left a bit too much to the imagination of the reader. Very open ended when I believe that the Author intended for the reader to grasp what comes next on their own. I could not make that jump without reading prior reviews and blurbs about this book. I gave it 4 stars but really it's more like 3.25.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the controversy surrounding policing in the U.S., I thought a re-read of a Wambaugh novel might be interesting. I read many of his early novels (and non-fiction) in the 1970s and remember finding them honest and somewhat startling. They remain so. The language is dated (not so PC as today's writers), but officer Morgan, a 20 year veteran of the LA PD, remains a multi-dimensional character who seems to reflect many of both the positive and negative traits and attitudes of current police officers. Glad to have experienced this classic again.

[Lance Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is one hell of a book, and Joe Wambaugh is a hell of a writer. The Blue Knight succeeds in creating one of the greatest characters I’ve ever met, the Los Angeles street cop named William ‘Bumper’ Morgan. Wambaugh influenced the greats, King, Westlake, Connelly, Cornwell, Lehane, Slaughter and Lee Child, just to name a few. This is gritty, harrowing, grim stuff. Will Bumper quit on Friday after his twenty years are up? Read to find out. Next up: The New Centurions! 5/5 and extra points for really making me love this Cop, something I never thought I’d say. It’s also funny as hell.

[Huw Collingbourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has the feel of a sort of dramatised documentary. The novel has almost no discernible plot - it is a set of loosely linked episodes in the life of an LA policeman preparing to retire from the force. I was unsure how to rate it because, in terms of structure, pace and development, it leaves much to be desired. However, I enjoyed the vigorous and descriptive writing so overall I think it is just about worth 4 stars.

[Matthew Stechel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great, very anecdotal, also kind of its time, but connected via the very human character of Bubanski whose reactions and abilities to handle all the crazy people he comes into contact with via his job as beat cop are never not entertaining. Very much made me wanna read more Wambaugh tho I suspect i won't like any of his other novels as much as I liked this one since it feels like it'd be hard to replicate the feel of, tho I'd love to be proven wrong!

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last three days before retirement for Bumper Morgan, an LAPD cop. The ending was not what I expected; less and at the same time, more; tragic than I thought would happen. Bumper is drawn as a not quite sympathetic character; by the end, I found him totally likable and understood him better. Mr. Wambaugh makes him real and gets you to see the pressures and pleasures of being a cop. Recommended.