The Onion Field

Exciting tale of a cop faced with a dilemma.To render his gun to an assasin trying to save his partner's life.

A true story dramatized to come out a classic LA crime story

since it's a true story, it's pretty hard to criticize. as a writer who unequivocally supports cops though, i can see where people would think he's really hard on the poor criminals in this book. it's a really sad story all in all, so steer clear if you don't dig those. a true and sad story about four guys who unintentionally ruined each others lives and changed police procedure in the process. ...more

since it's a true story, it's pretty hard to criticize. as a writer who unequivocally supports cops though, i can see where people would think he's really hard on the poor criminals in this book. it's a really sad story all in all, so steer clear if you don't dig those. a true and sad story about four guys who unintentionally ruined each others lives and changed police procedure in the process. like a lot of non-fiction, it just is what it is, and i don't know how to approve or disapprove of it. nothing in here would appeal to the masses, but somehow they made a movie of it.   hide

The story was pretty intense. I found it a little difficult keeping up with all the characters' back-stories at the beginning but a good read overall.

A great book for a rookie officer or any officer for that matter. It makes you think about the job in a whole new perspective. Anything can happen at any given time.

I love the first chapter best. This is such a great story. I like the style of writing here most of all.

Uhhhhh. It's pretty depressing. I wouldn't recommend it, but I needed a page turner for those middle of the night awakenings

Goes on and on, but still couldn't put it down.

One of the saddest true stories ever written. This book is about two robbers and the officers whose lives were changed after one fateful March night in California. The two officers, who were performing a routine traffic stop, are overtaken and held captive by the two robbers. The two cops are then drove out to an onion field were one of the officers is gunned down in cold blood, making it...more

One of the saddest true stories ever written. This book is about two robbers and the officers whose lives were changed after one fateful March night in California. The two officers, who were performing a routine traffic stop, are overtaken and held captive by the two robbers. The two cops are then drove out to an onion field were one of the officers is gunned down in cold blood, making it possible for the other officer to escape. The officers makes it to a farmer's house and is able to positively identify the two murders. A trial is set and the two are found guilty. However, due to the fact that the two murderers were not read their Miranda rights during questioning (Miranda was a new concept at the time of the murder), the two convictions are overturned. This sets off a chain of events that leads to endless trials and eventually to the mental breakdown of the surviving officer who is forced to relive the tragic events that took place in the onion field.   hide