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Policewoman
Dorothy Uhnak's no-holds-barred memoir about her life as one of New York's finestThe "original policewoman," Dorothy Uhnak was the first to write a procedural novel with a female cop as the protagonist. But before she turned her talents to fiction, Uhnak was a detective with the New York Transit Police. Policewoman chronicles her fourteen years on the force, where she was decorated twice for bravery. This insider's view of law enforcement takes you behind the scenes into a city that was a no-man's land of corruption, drugs, and violence. Uhnak recounts the hurdles facing a female cop during New York's tumultuous 1950s and '60s, and the difficult adjustment to a new way of life once she gets her badge. She takes readers from firearms training to homicide scenes to interrogation rooms where detectives extract confessions. As gritty and relentless as Uhnak's novels, Policewoman is a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last, spellbinding page is turned. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy Uhnak including rare images from the author's estate.
- GenresNonfictionMysteryMemoir
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
5 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Uhnak
34 books17 followersUhnak's first book was autobiographical Policewoman (1964), written and published while she was still a New York Transit Police detective.
Her debut fiction, The Bait (1968), received a 1969 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel (in a tie with E. Richard Johnson's Silver Street). ,The Bait was also made into a 1973 made-for-television film of the same title. It was followed by The Witness and The Ledger, which was adapted for the TV-movie and series Get Christie Love! starring Teresa Graves. All three novels featured Christie Opara, an NYPD detective assigned to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where Uhnak herself was assigned for many years.
Later works included Law and Order, which was made into a TV-movie starring Darren McGavin and The Investigation, which was adapted into a TV-movie, "Kojak: The Price of Justice", with Telly Savalas.
In her later years she suffered from depression. She committed suicide by a self-administered drug overdoes in 2006. She was seventy-six at the time of her death.
Her debut fiction, The Bait (1968), received a 1969 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel (in a tie with E. Richard Johnson's Silver Street). ,The Bait was also made into a 1973 made-for-television film of the same title. It was followed by The Witness and The Ledger, which was adapted for the TV-movie and series Get Christie Love! starring Teresa Graves. All three novels featured Christie Opara, an NYPD detective assigned to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where Uhnak herself was assigned for many years.
Later works included Law and Order, which was made into a TV-movie starring Darren McGavin and The Investigation, which was adapted into a TV-movie, "Kojak: The Price of Justice", with Telly Savalas.
In her later years she suffered from depression. She committed suicide by a self-administered drug overdoes in 2006. She was seventy-six at the time of her death.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 10, 2015
RATING: 4.25
Policewoman was truly a groundbreaking book when it was released in 1963. It was the first book to be written by a female cop and is highly autobiographical in nature. In the introduction to the book, Uhnak states that the incidents in the book are based on reality but that the stories within the book are not really true.
In spite of that, the book reads as if it were a non-fiction account of a young woman who is hired into the police force. In fact, the character is named "Dorothy Uhnak". The book begins with Uhnak's time at the Police Academy and follows her from her first days on the job. The narrative presents a series of episodes that show Uhnak in a variety of assignments: investigating a gypsy scam, doing dead body checks, working on the pickpocket squad, trapping a rapist, etc. The incidents are in turns touching, humorous, horrible. There is the sense that these things really did happen, no matter what Uhnak may say in her foreword. Life is boring; life is exciting. And Uhnak keeps learning lessons along the way. The one lesson that she is unable to learn is how to harden her heart and not feel the pain of the situations that she is exposed to.
I thought this book was wonderful. Several of Uhnak's books were sold as movies or TV shows. She wrote her books before such male policemen as Joseph Wambaugh or William Caunitz were ever on the scene. Her novels were the first to feature a tough, professional female detective, but she doesn't generally get the credit for her contribution, that being attributed to Muller, Grafton, Paretsky and others.
Uhnak lived what she wrote, and it doesn't get any better than that. She spent 14 years as a New York City Transit cop and ultimately left the department because of sexual discrimination.
Policewoman was truly a groundbreaking book when it was released in 1963. It was the first book to be written by a female cop and is highly autobiographical in nature. In the introduction to the book, Uhnak states that the incidents in the book are based on reality but that the stories within the book are not really true.
In spite of that, the book reads as if it were a non-fiction account of a young woman who is hired into the police force. In fact, the character is named "Dorothy Uhnak". The book begins with Uhnak's time at the Police Academy and follows her from her first days on the job. The narrative presents a series of episodes that show Uhnak in a variety of assignments: investigating a gypsy scam, doing dead body checks, working on the pickpocket squad, trapping a rapist, etc. The incidents are in turns touching, humorous, horrible. There is the sense that these things really did happen, no matter what Uhnak may say in her foreword. Life is boring; life is exciting. And Uhnak keeps learning lessons along the way. The one lesson that she is unable to learn is how to harden her heart and not feel the pain of the situations that she is exposed to.
I thought this book was wonderful. Several of Uhnak's books were sold as movies or TV shows. She wrote her books before such male policemen as Joseph Wambaugh or William Caunitz were ever on the scene. Her novels were the first to feature a tough, professional female detective, but she doesn't generally get the credit for her contribution, that being attributed to Muller, Grafton, Paretsky and others.
Uhnak lived what she wrote, and it doesn't get any better than that. She spent 14 years as a New York City Transit cop and ultimately left the department because of sexual discrimination.
March 12, 2014
This book remains one of the best accounts of policing.
It does not matter that it was written in 1964.
It is an early example of sharp, clear writing about a murky
topic.
A young woman of 21 joins the NYC Transit Police in 1953.
She goes through the rituals of the Academy.
At that time, women were treated, paid and trained
differently from the male officers.
She learns about the world.
She learns about herself.
Killers appear before her.
They help her shed her earlier ideas.
Alone, she risks her life against an armed rapist who puts a
gun to her head.
She survives, with her compassion and her sense of humour intact.
She grows as a person to see the victims falling before her.
Her idealism grows.
As a retired police officer, I have read many true-crime police
books.
This book still surprises and delights me today.
If you pick it up, it will hook you as well.
----- Frank Hickey, writer of the Max Royster crime novels and
LAPD, retired.
October 22, 2015
This is a fascinating book relating what it was like to be a policewoman in NYC in the early 1960s. Uhnak reflects on her transformation from an eager social worker to a police officer who learns much more about the seamier side of the city that she had expected. The chapters focus on various crimes that she investigated, from rape and murder to larceny, and her relationships with the various partners that she was assigned. The chapter dealing with a back alley abortionist really demonstrates why Roe vs Wade was so important. While she was pretending to be pregnant in order to trap the abortionist, she found out that she was really pregnant which made this case so chilling to her. I especially liked how she discussed her chaning ideas about the world, herself, and other human beings, as she encounters some pretty awful characters, including a subway rapist. Uhnak served on the NYPD for 14 years, then became a crime novelist and script writer. The 1974-1978 tv series Police Woman with Angie Dickinson is not based specifically on this book, but I bet it was an influence,
December 31, 2021
Published in 1963 as a record of Uhnak's 10 years with the New York City Transit Police, now in 2021 the language seems stilted, the gender-heavy "little miss" seems offensive, and some of the tactics must be prohibited now, but Uhnak's focus, determination and good intentions are clear and courageous. She must have experienced much more difficulty than what she writes of but she gives good credit to those who helped her along. Uhnak understands the fine line the police must observe to find justice and keep order and grieves at the inadequacy of the system. I'll look for her fiction now.
April 15, 2017
Beautifully written, with heart!
I did not realize until I finished this book that it was published in 1964. It had such a contemporary feel. Very exciting and moving and thought provoking stories from the author's career in the New York city police department in the 50's. The dialogue seemed authentic and draws you into the scene more deeply. Wish she had written a longer book. Will have to check out her novels that were precursors to Sue Grafton's and others' books.
I did not realize until I finished this book that it was published in 1964. It had such a contemporary feel. Very exciting and moving and thought provoking stories from the author's career in the New York city police department in the 50's. The dialogue seemed authentic and draws you into the scene more deeply. Wish she had written a longer book. Will have to check out her novels that were precursors to Sue Grafton's and others' books.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews