Book Review: In the Office of Constable: An Autobiography
| Author | Bruce Swanton |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587901200314 |
| Published date | 01 September 1979 |
| Date | 01 September 1979 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
B()()K REVIEWS 189
victim(s)
and
probably
last,
but
not least, the person or persons on
whom
falls
the responsibility of bringing the culpritis) to justice. This
book,
while containing
acollection of such
crime
stories, is also a story of law enforcement. It is the
tale of
men
with expertise in their chosen fields. Although
some
of
them
do not
have international reputations, all
have
gained recognition in their
own
countries
for their particular style of investigation,
even
though some of their efforts go
unrewarded
and
there
are
more
failures than successes. However, contrary to the
title of the book, the focus is
not
always on these "super sleuths",
but
rather on
the factual case material presented.
One
unique attraction distinguishes this
book,
and
this has
been
achieved as a
result of the authors' careful selection of international crime-fighters, whose
diverse backgrounds
and
crimes they are involved with
combine
to
provide
a
varied
and
interesting cross-section of the
type
of criminal
being
pursued
and
the
investigation
being
carried out.
The
selection includes sleuths involved in almost
every category of crime.
One
example is Detective Tuvia
Friedman
of Israel,
who
pursues
war
criminals. This is.
not
the
kind of investigation
that
usually
confronts the
average
detective and therefore
demands
an expertise in excess of
that
which is normally required. .
Unfortunately, while the
book
contains amajor attraction (as mentioned
above), it also contains amajor flaw.
That
is, although the journalistic technique
of the authors in presentingauthentic material is evident, nevertheless it is perhaps
this style of writing
that
proves to
be
the
book's worst
enemy.
Although the
authors have, to
some
extent,
preserved
the
dramatic nature of events related
therein
and
let
them
"tell their
own
story",
they
have
added
their
own
particular
brand
of
drama
by
the over-use of phrases such as "tenacious determination"
and
"morbid
tableau". Another jarring
element
is the descriptions given of the
various sleuths.
One,
for example, reads:
He had short, thick gray hair
over
adeeply
furrowed
forehead
and
prominent
cheekbones that
tapered
to lean jaws
and
aVandyke
beard.
The
face was
dominated
by large green, piercing eyes
that
could look daggers into criminals
but
crinkle in laughter at the antics of his children.
(Chapter
12,..p
~l.)
All this tends to
read
like
some
third-rate fiction,
and
it is therefore disturbing
to find that the book's overall impression is
that
which is so strongly
refuted
by
Austria's most
renowned
detective,
Dr
Friedrich Kuso,
who
says:
"The
lonely
detective, cast in the
way
Sir
Conan
Doyle
created the figure
of
Sherlock
Holmes, is
pure
fiction. . . ."
Some reference should be
made
to
the
title of the book, as
The
Super
Sleuths
immediately conjures up a
work
of fiction
and
this could mislead the prospective
buyer. Apart
from
this
and
its journalistic style, persons involved in the criminal
justice system
and
particularly
law
enforcement
personnel, will find this
book
enjoyable, informative
and
enlightened reading.
Canberra
DOROTHY
ZORICHICH
In
The
Office
Of
Constable: An Autobiography. Sir
Robert
Mark, Collins,
London (1978) 320 pp, $15.95.
Senior British police officers
and
administrators
are
well
known
for their habit
of writing memoirs
and
autobiographies
once
they are safely into retirement
and
their pensions no longer at risk, eg, Fabian, Forbes, Gosling,
Howe,
Jackson,
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