We of the forensic sciences work very closely with the police in the United States yet know very little of how those police organizations became what they are today. Thomas J. Deakin, an attorney and editor of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin attempts to correct that in this book. This would be an excellent text for a police science course or for any individual who would like to learn somewhat how today's police organizations came to be. The text stresses the “professionalization” of police and more specifically, the philosophy of how such organizations changed from the political handiwork of the 19th century to the efficient and mostly apolitical police forces of today.