William’s review of Serpico: The Classic 1960s True Crime Biography of a Brooklyn Cop Who Couldn't Be Bought > Likes and Comments
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Great review of an important book, which is also very timely. Thank you.
Much appreciated Peter! An important book, indeed.
William: When we have to praise a cop for being honest, you know this country is in trouble. I admire Frank Serpico very much, but his story must be seen against the backdrop of the late 60s to early 70s corruption scandals that were everywhere in America.
I read that the same thing happens w adultery. If you know cheaters, you’re more likely to cheat as well.
This review has inspired me to revisit Serpico. I was first inspired to read it as a teenager after watching the 1975 film with Al Pacino. At the time, I not only admired Serpico’s moral fortitude, I was outraged at what he had experienced at the hands of his fellow cops. Mire recently, however, I had come to view primarily as a historical artifact. It came out during a time that was acutely concerned with corruption (thanks to Watergate, among other failures of “the Establishment”), which in turn overlapped with the emergence of the ideal of countercultural rebel, the courageous outsider. Having said that, however, it would be a mistake to think that its relevance is limited to the social and political climate of the late 60s and early-to-mid-70s. Serpico’s message about the prevalence of groupthink, particularly in the context of law enforcement, along with the dangers of following your own conscience and trying to do the right thing when everyone else is behaving badly seems to resonate with the dilemmas currently facing our military and law enforcement in today’s political climate. When a decorated former military officer is censured for reminding servicemen and women that they have a duty to refuse unlawful orders, one needn’t wonder whether there’s a crisis of legitimation occurring right now in our military and police forces as we lurch from one headline-making crisis to the next. I recall that, for many years, Serpico was required reading for police academy recruits in many jurisdictions. Sadly, this book and its lessons are more urgently needed now than when it was first published.
A fair point Julio. Any specific examples come to mind?
Excellent book and movie I thought. I read it back in the day.
William wrote: "A fair point Julio. Any specific examples come to mind?"
New York City was falling apart, literally, going bankrupt, and awash in drugs---the French Connection case ended in the heroin seized being stolen by crooked cops. Nixon was in the White House and the economy was going to hell.
I was just going to mention that Pacino did a great job portraying Serpico in the eponymous 1973 movie, but while reading to the end of your review I found that the Serpico story is more than relevant today. We need a lot of Serpicos to go up against the corruption in government today. It's more than 50 years since I read the book and saw the movie. Both are still vivid memories.
Wow, Julio, didn't realize that history. Startling in numerous respects. Thanks for sharing.
Great comment Juneko! This is exactly right:
Serpico’s message about the prevalence of groupthink, particularly in the context of law enforcement, along with the dangers of following your own conscience and trying to do the right thing when everyone else is behaving badly seems to resonate with the dilemmas currently facing our military and law enforcement in today’s political climate.
Thanks Dmitri. Will add the movie to my list.
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Peter
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Jan 14, 2026 12:12PM
Great review of an important book, which is also very timely. Thank you.
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Much appreciated Peter! An important book, indeed.
William: When we have to praise a cop for being honest, you know this country is in trouble. I admire Frank Serpico very much, but his story must be seen against the backdrop of the late 60s to early 70s corruption scandals that were everywhere in America.
I read that the same thing happens w adultery. If you know cheaters, you’re more likely to cheat as well.
This review has inspired me to revisit Serpico. I was first inspired to read it as a teenager after watching the 1975 film with Al Pacino. At the time, I not only admired Serpico’s moral fortitude, I was outraged at what he had experienced at the hands of his fellow cops. Mire recently, however, I had come to view primarily as a historical artifact. It came out during a time that was acutely concerned with corruption (thanks to Watergate, among other failures of “the Establishment”), which in turn overlapped with the emergence of the ideal of countercultural rebel, the courageous outsider. Having said that, however, it would be a mistake to think that its relevance is limited to the social and political climate of the late 60s and early-to-mid-70s. Serpico’s message about the prevalence of groupthink, particularly in the context of law enforcement, along with the dangers of following your own conscience and trying to do the right thing when everyone else is behaving badly seems to resonate with the dilemmas currently facing our military and law enforcement in today’s political climate. When a decorated former military officer is censured for reminding servicemen and women that they have a duty to refuse unlawful orders, one needn’t wonder whether there’s a crisis of legitimation occurring right now in our military and police forces as we lurch from one headline-making crisis to the next. I recall that, for many years, Serpico was required reading for police academy recruits in many jurisdictions. Sadly, this book and its lessons are more urgently needed now than when it was first published.
A fair point Julio. Any specific examples come to mind?
Excellent book and movie I thought. I read it back in the day.
William wrote: "A fair point Julio. Any specific examples come to mind?"New York City was falling apart, literally, going bankrupt, and awash in drugs---the French Connection case ended in the heroin seized being stolen by crooked cops. Nixon was in the White House and the economy was going to hell.
I was just going to mention that Pacino did a great job portraying Serpico in the eponymous 1973 movie, but while reading to the end of your review I found that the Serpico story is more than relevant today. We need a lot of Serpicos to go up against the corruption in government today. It's more than 50 years since I read the book and saw the movie. Both are still vivid memories.
Wow, Julio, didn't realize that history. Startling in numerous respects. Thanks for sharing.
Great comment Juneko! This is exactly right:Serpico’s message about the prevalence of groupthink, particularly in the context of law enforcement, along with the dangers of following your own conscience and trying to do the right thing when everyone else is behaving badly seems to resonate with the dilemmas currently facing our military and law enforcement in today’s political climate.
Thanks Dmitri. Will add the movie to my list.
