Manny Lavine is no "reformer." He is a reporter.He believes that his own opinions are of slight validity as compared to the actual facts; he is a staunchadherent of the reporters' creed: the public is entitled to the truth. Perhaps it is not surprising that he himself sympathizes with the policeman's point of view. But in preparing this book, he has abandoned his own sympathies-or, if you will, his prejudices-and has written, coldly and objectively, an account of what he has seen. As a factual and detailed description of police brutality, this account forms an invaluable record.Yet the book is far more than this, for the author has not limited his disclosures to facts relating to the third degree. Many readers will here, for the first time, observe the actual functioning of the police-in fact, and not in theory. Moreover, this volume, though it makes no attempt to explain the apparent failure of democracy, contains hints valuable for the solution of this enigma.---The Third Degree was first published in 1930, documenting the abuses of the times.