The big policeman

"Philip Marlowe, 'Dirty Harry,' and even 'Law & Order'--none of these would exist as they do today were it not for the legendary career of nineteenth-century New York City cop Thomas Byrnes. From 1854 to 1895, Byrnes rose through the ranks of the city's police department to become one of the most celebrated detectives in American history, and paved the way for modern-day police methods, both good and bad..."--Dust jacket flap.