Triumph of Spirit: An Autobiography by Chief Penny Harrington

Rating:
Summary: Policewoman, police yourself!
Review: A poorly written pompous piece of self-aggrandizing pap. If Ms. Harrington has such an ax to grind against the police patriarchy, why did she remain in policing for so long? Perhaps she should look within for answers instead of tilting against ever politically correct windmill in sight.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and informational reading
Review: Penny Harrington is truly a modern hero, who demonstrated through her courage and compassion how to change contemporary policing for the better -- first in Portland and then on the national and even international level. In this book, she describes her rise from the ranks of "police woman" to Chief, serving as the first female police chief in a major U.S. city. Her path was not traditional, because it could not have been for a woman in that era. Rather, her trajectory had twists and turns that make for interesting reading and serve as a lesson for all of us in the history of American policing. By achieving the highest rank of Chief in that organization, Penny Harrington showed other women in the agency and the rest of the country that women can make an important difference in their community by working as law enforcement officers. Since that time, Chief Harrington has continued to blaze trail after trail for countless women following behind her, by working to improve the police profession for those within it and in the communities they serve. More importantly, however, Chief Harrington has worked tirelessly for decades on the national and even international level to reform contemporary policing from within, tackling head-on the seemingly intractable issues of corruption, brutality, and the "good ole boy" network that makes change so difficult. This book is a terrific read, and the author is a one-of-a-kind historical and inspirational figure.

Rating:
Summary: True cop
Review: There can be no higher praise for this book than trash reviews by bigoted cops. Chief Harrington's brutally honest evisceration of policing and her own life tells the inside story behind the Blue Wall, a story many cops do not want printed or read. Although sometimes overly personal, her journey is a showcase of the difficulties inherent in being a trailblazer, and the problems women still face in policing. As an employment law attorney, I use this book as a case study of women in policing.