Brave Hearts: Extraordinary Stories of Pride, Pain and Courage

by Cynthia Brown, Raymond Kelly (Foreword)

Brave Hearts takes you inside the hearts and minds of fifteen police officers as they go about their difficult task of protecting the people from harm. Whether they are gathering intelligence to stop another terrorist attack, crawling through the rubble of the World Trade Center towers looking desperately for survivors, working undercover to get illegal weapons and drugs off the streets, tracking a serial murderer, ending a gun battle, or mediating a domestic dispute, the men and women in these pages give new life to the meaning of heroic. The author s unusual access to the people who work in this insular and isolated profession enables the reader to take a unique voyage into the trenches of the law enforcement world. No one in this book escapes the common psychological and physical toll the job demands from people who routinely commit breathtaking acts of bravery to apprehend a criminal or protect an innocent person from crime. Ultimately, these stories are about people who have chosen a life of service. They have devoted themselves to something larger than themselves, to an idea that they have to do something that gives back with their lives. Lives of meaning and commitment. And despite the constant exposure to life s dark side, the injuries, time away from their families, vagaries of shift work, and so on, they all view that law enforcement work was a privilege and a job they were lucky to have. Read Brave hearts from beginning to end. You will never look at police officers the same way again.

Genres: True Crime

381 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ronnette Benke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book - or one like to understand what officers go through. They never know what their day will be like- what events that will occur. They see the worst of human conditions and yet still protect and serve. They may be stabbed, shot, spit at. They have a split second to make a decision that may save a life or determine an outcome of an event. And depending on the event, they may have physical or mental issues that sustain for a brief time or even longer. They deal will piles of paperwork and possibly investigation of their actions. Events that can haunt them or an injury that will never heal because they protected the streets. They have the threat of aids, chemical toxicins, exposure to help c and MRSA. They experience high divorce rates and marital issues. Maybe even substance abuse. They deal with things the average person doesn’t. The movies/ tv shows try to show you the world the officers live in. I have seen the law n order, cops, so on. But these shows can show the emotions or pain .... and maybe not even the joy.

No doubt their job can be stressful and dangerous. Yet I pull up YouTube and see the officers dancing and singing. Or doing something kind for another. They have a brother/sisterhood. A family. And yes there maybe a few bad seeds but that’s not about officers that’s just the human race. Most of the time these are good people with good hearts who will be there when you need them at your worst times. I say the public and media doesn’t need to be so hard on them. We don’t need to ‘Beat them up’. I not a cop. I don’t have family serving as a cop. This book and the officers in the book touched my heart. In the deepest way. May they and their fellow officers be watched over, weary souls and injury soothes, and allowed joy.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite the grammatical errors throughout that even sub-par editing should have caught. It's usually difficult for me to overlook those types of seemingly small mistakes, but with this collection, I'd say the message drastically outweighs the errors, and they can be overlooked.
I feel like I already had a good understanding of law enforcement work, and am able to sympathize with the very real struggle to keep a good rapport with a society that is so harshly critical of police, and police culture. I'm critical when criticism is due, but I feel like I am generally able to step above the emotional cloud-cover that blocks good judgment and sympathy. "Brave Hearts" opened my mind even more, and my heart. These are true stories of New York Law Enforcement, directly from the agents, officers, detectives, etc. They provide an extremely poignant glimpse into their lives, both professional and personal, and how they cope with the sometimes overwhelming pressure from both sides. It was also refreshing to read that they are also extremely critical when criticism is due, but it's more personal for them. They view sloppy, corrupt, ignorant, racist, sexist, and/or violent officers as a bad mark against the entire department, and it reflects badly on all officers. Most of them have to quietly fight against such deplorable behavior, but they want to see it quashed more than anyone else.
This book is an excellent choice for anyone willing to take a deeper look into the sacrifice, courage, humility, strength, and emotion it takes to be in Law Enforcement. We are currently living in a national community that is distrustful of police. Unfortunately, this is mostly the result of biased reporting, and drama-hungry media/consumers. I hope that a wider range of people read "Brave Hearts", not just those already interested in, or supportive of Law Enforcement, and hopefully a little faith and understanding will be restored.
It isn't bad to question authority, or be suspicious when you sense or know something is amiss. But we need to look beyond the few bad officers whose stories flood the news, making it seem like there are nothing but bad cops out there. That couldn't be more wrong. This book shows that there are so many more great officers out there than bad, and it highlights the exceptionally wonderful officers who should be the role models of anyone going into Law Enforcement.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh. i read this for a class to write an essay on and the chapter about two partners secretly dating while they were married and then later getting divorced and then married to each other (which the author detailed as affecting their ability to do their jobs) being put in a book with officers who did very heroic things just gave time the ick. would have rated this book higher if it weren’t for that chapter.

[Tom Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of short stories about individual officers within the NYPD. The author puts a face to the thin blue line and the reader comes away with a better understanding of the people who “serve and protect “. If you want to know why people do the job and what motivates them, as well as the price they pay, read this book.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stories that had me hooked from beginning to end. These are stories everyone should read about to know what officers experience in the line of duty. The stories about what they went through in the aftermath of 9/11 are especially heartbreaking

Police Officers don't get enough recognition for the job they do. This book helps recognizing their heroism and dedication to law enforcement.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book at my NYPD orientation. I would read it on the train ride to work and let me tell you it was a good motivator to go to work everyday. It truly takes you into the lives of an active NYPD Officer.

[Michael Pelligrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

THis book will help.non law enforcement people to understand police officers and get an understanding of what they go through everyday. I thank God for men and women like the ones in this book.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was simply amazing. The people in this book put their life on the line everyday to protect those in their community and I admire them for that. I cannot wait to begin my life as a officer.