An Author and His Books: The Why

As an author, you never stop promoting your books. One reason is the time you spend researching things that matter to you. For example, I spent eight years researching Guardians of Angels, A History of the LAPD. I had to get it right, and I did. The result is my best-selling book and numerous five-star reviews. I’m very proud of that.

Writing isn’t about dollars and cents; it’s about sharing my adoration for LAPD by getting my book to readers such as yourself. This is what’s important. So as you look at this, my life’s work, you will hopefully appreciate “An Author and His Books.”

All my books are available on my website here (scroll down to ‘books”), where I can sign your copy. Also, all my books are on Amazon and other sites; click here (then click on the top of the link). I appreciate your support.

Jim Bultema

For 150 years, LAPD officers have pinned on a badge, holstered a gun and traveled the corridors of history, leaving behind the rich traditions that are today s LAPD. Guardians of Angels is a penetrating history of the Los Angeles Police Department since 1850. Thoroughly researched over eight years, containing scores of interviews and illustrated with hundreds of rare photographs, this book details how the department evolved from six officers administering frontier justice to today s high-tech professionals.

It was a battle to control an emerging Los Angeles, fought by gangsters, pimps, vice lords, crooked politicians, and cops. As in a war-ravaged city, bodies dotted the town like discarded trash.

For five decades, Los Angeles was a city overtaken by greed, ranging from the mayor’s office to the gangster’s and vice lord’s passion for adding to their empires. Standing in their way was LAPD. While some chiefs went for the easy money, others stood their ground and fought back
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Fueling the situation was Prohibition, that made criminals out of half the population. Underlying this was the Great Depression, which stole the soles of Americans. Struggling against these conditions were a handful of chiefs that would make a difference. Read about these confrontations and how they transformed the LAPD from a corrupt department into one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the world.

Ripped from today’s headlines, Unsolved is the first ever book to examine the sacrifices made by American’s heroic law enforcement officers who were murdered while their killers escaped justice­. Left behind are devastated loved ones and a law enforcement agency hunting down the assassins. Building on years of comprehensive nationwide research, Bultema, a former LAPD cop, puts a story behind some of the names etched on police monuments across this country.

Note: On my second printing with my books arriving soon. It will be close to get it by Christmas or I have some slightly damaged books in stock for $20.00-just email me jabultema@aol.com.

In a time of intense public controversy and scrutiny over policing, it s essential to consider who are these men and women patrolling the streets of America? Is this discord deserved? Many would argue no, that the police are scapegoats for failures of society as President Obama recently stated. For a better understanding of these police officers, author and former cop, James Bultema, takes the reader on a photographic journey of America s city police departments. This historical tour begins in the 1850s and uses over 300 captivating photographs to give the reader some insight to our country s protectors. Police are at the front lines of history as it is being made and these riveting photographs showcase America s story as it s unfolding through officers in action. Through the magic of the camera lens, a vanished world lives again and invites the viewer to be part of a moment long ago and partner up with those brave souls who were and are The Protectors of a nation.

My first novel…
Sea of Red is an action-packed Military Thriller involving a war between China and the U.S. in their fight over Taiwan.

With Chinese hypersonic cruise missiles thundering toward the aircraft carrier USS Reagan, the captain has only minutes to decide how to save his crew of 5,000 before they all end up at the bottom of the South China Sea.

As the battle rages, under the sea, U.S. fast attack submarines silently maneuver against the PLA Navy while jet fighters battle for air superiority. On the ground, Marines fight for control of Chinese-held Woody Island. A Taiwanese tank squadron confronts a superior attacking force on Kinmen Island in a courageous attempt to halt Chinese forces.

In the White House, the president strategizes with his National Security Council on overcoming China’s advantage in ballistic missiles and ships. His counterpart, the president of China, develops a daring plan to destroy America’s fleet of aircraft carriers.

Sea of Red is a must-read, powerful new Techno-Thriller with warriors you won’t soon forget.

The Power of Book Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As an author, your writing is judged by your readers and by book reviewers. Some of these reviewers are professionals, such as Kirkus Reviews. In contrast, others are reading your book because of an interest in the subject and, at times, you as an author. Many of these readers will provide you with a written review when asked. I have experienced both and wanted to share that with you.

In my new book, Gangsters and Cops: Prohibition, Corruption, and LAPD’s Scandalous Coming of Age, I address the five decades (1900-1950) Los Angeles was a city overtaken by greed and corruption, ranging from the mayor’s office to the gangster’s and vice lord’s with their passion for enlarging their empires. Standing in their way was LAPD. While some went for the easy money, others stood their ground and fought back. This book is about those battles and those people.

Without question, LAPD was corrupt during those times. But I argue in Gangster and Cops, it was Chief of Police William H. Parker (1950-1966) that transformed the department from a corrupt institution to build the foundation where the LAPD is today recognized as a leader in policing.

Chief William H. Parker, 1950-1966

With a differing interpretation is Kirkus Reviews, one of the nation’s top book reviewers, who state they have: “90 years as a voice in book discovery.” Well, they indeed used that voice loud and clear in their review of Gangsters and Cops; they wrote of Parker:

“Even more shocking is the adulation for Chief William H. Parker, whom Bultema extols for having “transformed the LAPD into an efficient, technologically advanced, and incorruptible operation” during his tenure from 1950 to 1966; there’s no mention of how, as journalists such as Joe Domanick have shown, Parker’s LAPD terrorized the city’s minority residents, fueling resentment that erupted in the Watts riots of 1965—or of how the department continued to be corrupted by money, racism, and power, as in the 1998-2000 Rampart Division scandal. It results in a work whose claims are hard to swallow.”

In writing that my claims of Parker “are hard to swallow,” I would suggest that the reviewer shares the same bad appetite as many in the media. They argue that the Los Angeles Police Department continually faces misconduct allegations, excessive use of force, and racial profiling. But I contend that beginning with Chief Parker, the department has undergone continual reforms and changes in policies and procedures to address these issues and strive to improve its relationship with the people it serves.

Today, the department continues to make significant advances in implementing reforms and improving community relations. LAPD remains in the forefront for developing innovative policing strategies and has contributed to advances in law enforcement practices. Yes, since Chief Parker, LAPD has left behind to history of a severely corrupted police department as it continues to professionalize and move forward with a transparent relationship with the citizens of Los Angeles.

But my salient point, it all started with Parker. Ask anyone who has ever pinned on the badge, and you might hear similar opinions of Parker as his group of peers gave me years ago:

“Bill Parker, an irrefutable force…He made sure that the cure that was put into the reform election didn’t dissipate. Because with Bill Parker sitting there, no one was going to try and get away with anything crooked. He would probably put his mother in jail for corruption.”    Chief of Police Edward Davis

“I can remember Chief Parker telling us recruits, ‘You come from all segments of society and thus share its attitudes and prejudices. But if you treat anyone with disrespect or unfairness, your ass will be mine….I cannot change your beliefs, but I can change your employment.”  -Lieutenant Max Hurlbut

“Chief Parker was, of course, God around the LAPD.”  -Joseph Wambaugh

“I am convinced that Chief Parker began the LAPD. It existed before, but it didn’t exist the way it existed after Parker became chief. He was really the heart and soul of that organization. He made it professional….He is the one who stamped honesty and integrity in the minds of every young recruit that came into the department.” -Chief of Police Daryl F. Gates

“Now Parker, for his part of history, was the best thing for that police department that ever happened and the best thing for law enforcement that ever happened. Parker was a true professional. I had the greatest respect for him.”  -Chief of Police Thomas Reddin

 I also wanted to share what readers have said of Gangsters and Cops:

“Superbly researched and written…a must read book”  -Blair M. Gluba, retired federal agent with NCIS​

“A carefully researched and well-constructed chronicle to reform and professionalize Los Angeles’ police force…A skillful narrative…Gangsters and Cops dramatically recounts some of the major events in the history of LA’s early twentieth century underworld.”  -Patrick Jenning, author of The Long Winding Road of Harry Raymond: A Detective’s Journey Down the Mean Streets of Los Angeles​

“Gangsters and Cops reads like a novel, yet is a deep dive into the development of LAPD from the very beginning.”  -Mike Pipes

“Reads like a PBS documentary…Another well written book by James Bultema…If you like early Police history, this is a must read.”  -R. Hallenbeck, retired LAPD

“I’m not a cop…. Jim’s is the story of LA but, like crime, law enforcement is everywhere.  We can only assume that the story is probably similar throughout the country….So the millions of citizens like myself, who have little direct knowledge of criminal activities, are left with only our own experiences – which are usually devoid of the level of corruption and violence that the cops see for 8 or 10 hours every day.  It’s sobering but important to see the bigger picture.  Jim’s book expands the information and provides a much more balanced look at a subject that affects us all, whether we realize it or not.” -Doug McQueen

And even Kirkus Reviews has something nice to say:

“The author provides plenty of detail and deft turns of phrase…These earlier sections offer an engaging history of a troubled department.”

For a signed copy of Gangsters and Cops: Prohibition, Corruption and LAPD’s Scandalous Coming of Age go to my website: https://www.jamesbultema.com/. Also available on Amazon and most book stores.

Jim Bultema