Much less scintillating that Whitey Bulger’s right-hand man

So says Steven Levitt (of Freakonomics fame) about me and my book in his Freakonomics blog in the New York Times. And for that, I can only thank God. But I’m pleased that Levitt liked my book.

Much less scintillating than a book by Whitey Bulger’s right-hand man? I should hope so. I was just a poor beat cop in Baltimore. I never killed anybody. But my book, Cop in the Hood, isn’t just a memoir, it has a point: end the war on drugs!

My book also helps explain why so many poor black American men are in prison. And it’s not the reason you think it is, because it has nothing to do with being poor, black, young, or male. It has everything to do with police wanting overtime pay.

I wish Levitt had liked my book a bit more, because I respect him deeply. Still, he read my book. He liked my book. And he’s happy he read my book. And you will be, too.