The Horror of Police

Name: The Horror of Police
Brand: NewSouth Books
SKU: 9781517905927
Price: 49.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Travis Linnemann

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Summary

The Horror of Police by Travis Linnemann exposes the enduring violence and corruption embedded in policing. Using themes from horror fiction, Linnemann portrays police not as protectors but as monstrous forces perpetuating a brutal social order. This critical examination challenges readers to see police violence not as aberration but as a systemic feature and urges imagining a society without policing.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$49⁹⁹

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The Horror of Police

$49⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book suits readers interested in social justice, critical theory, cultural studies, and those questioning contemporary policing. It will particularly appeal to academics, activists, and anyone seeking to understand police violence through a fresh theoretical lens.

"Drawing on the language and texts of horror fiction, Travis Linnemann recasts the police not only as self-proclaimed "monster fighters" but as monsters themselves, a terrifying force set loose in the world. The Horror of Police shows that police violence is not a deviation but rather a deliberate and permanent fixture of U.S. "law and order.""--

Description

Unmasks the horrors of a social order reproduced and maintained by the violence of police

Year after year the crisis churns: graft and corruption, violence and murder, riot cops and armoured vehicles claim city streets. Despite promises of reform, police operate with impunity, unaccountable to law. In The Horror of Police, Travis Linnemann asks why, with this open record of violence and corruption, policing remains for so many the best, perhaps only means of security in an insecure world.

Drawing on the language and texts of horror fiction, Linnemann recasts the police not only as self-proclaimed "monster fighters" but as monsters themselves, a terrifying force set loose in the world. Purposefully misreading a collection of everyday police stories (TV cop dramas, detective fiction, news media accounts, the direct words of police) not as morality tales of innocence avenged and order restored but as horror, Linnemann reveals the monstrous violence at the heart of liberal social order.

The Horror of Police shows that police violence is not a deviation but rather a deliberate and permanent fixture of U.S. "law and order." Only when viewed through the refracted motif of horror stories, Linnemann argues, can we begin to reckon the limits of police and imagine a world without them.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Geo Maher praises Linnemann for revealing policing as a monstrous reality that must be confronted to build a better world. Adam Kotsko highlights the book's unique approach, blending popular culture and critical theory to reveal police as society's monstrous core and to envision alternatives. Together these endorsements commend the book's innovative and compelling critique.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781517905927

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 September 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Minnesota Press

Illustration: 16 b&w illustrations

Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 38.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 272

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Non-Fiction Travis Linnemann

About the Author

Travis Linnemann is associate professor of sociology at Kansas State University. He is author of Meth Wars: Police, Media, Power; coauthor of Media and Crime in the U.S.; and coeditor of Ghost Criminology: The Afterlife of Crime and Punishment and the journal Crime, Media, Culture.