Allan Duffin - Writer/Producer

Women in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Celebrating the publication of my new book, History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers: Here's a clip from YouTube featuring women of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers is published by Kaplan Publishing (a division of the Washington Post Company) and distributed by Simon & Schuster. Visit your local bookstore, or order your copy from the Simon & Schuster website or from Amazon.com, Borders.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.

Official publication date for History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers

It's February 2, 2010 — the official publication date for History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers. Check your local bookstore today!

— We're #1 in Australia! History in Blue is listed as the #1 title at Borders.com in Australia (under "Police & Security Services Books"). Check it out here.

— Our publisher, Kaplan Publishing, is generously supporting charity events like the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association's Black Tie Gala on February 25, 2010. Five copies of History in Blue will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Association's college scholarship program, the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Foundation, and the Minnesota Special Olympics.

I want to thank a bunch of people for making this happen: Jane Dystel, my agent; Don Fehr, editorial director at Kaplan Publishing; Rachel Bergmann, my editor on the book; Kim Bowers, production editor; Tim Brazier, director of marketing at Kaplan Publishing; Janet Renard, copyeditor; Nancy Gillan, proofreader; Adina Kahn, who sold the original concept; and everyone else who helped turn a pretty cool idea into a real, honest-to-goodness book. (I've missed a few people who were part of the process and will update my thank-you's to include them soon.) Thanks so much!

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers is published by Kaplan Publishing (a division of the Washington Post Company) and distributed by Simon & Schuster. Visit your local bookstore, or order your copy from the Simon & Schuster website or from Amazon.com, Borders.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.

100 Cheesiest Movie Quotes of All Time

Just plain fun. Compiled by Pajiba.com.

Many thanks to BearManor Media and Ben Ohmart

With History in Blue about to come out, I wanted to take a moment to thank the publisher of my first book — The "12 O'Clock High" Logbook — for believing in me during that first go-round, and generously publicizing History in Blue on his website and blog.

Ben Ohmart founded BearManor Media to publish unique books about "classic cinema, retro radio, and timeless television." Hey, why don't I stop explaining and let him tell you about it? From his website:

Ben Ohmart here, and I started this publishing company in 2001, as a writer. I learned how hard it was to tap into the mainstream market with what is essentially nostalgia fodder. So I published The Great Gildersleeve myself. Then I learned something important. I seemed to enjoy the publishing side more than the writing side, so, when I began to get offers to publish other people's work (Jane Kean was one of the first), I began doing what I love full time. It still doesn't seem like work. And I know now that that's the greatest life of all.

Back in 2004, when co-writer Paul Matheis and I were shopping The "12 O'Clock High" Logbook to publishers, we were fortunate to meet Ben, because the book was a perfect fit for his catalog and his company's interests. And because Ben was so generous with his time and expertise, he made the process of creating my first book a terrific experience. He taught me a lot, and for that I am forever grateful.

So Ben, though I've said it before, many, many thanks to you. You made a huge difference in my life. And I hope you enjoy the new book!

Police Magazine and women in law enforcement

As we count down to the release date (February 2) for my new book — History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers — I'll be cross-posting information from various sources so you can read more about the topic if you'd like to.

Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine has a section that focuses on women in law enforcement. (Click here to access.) Here's an excerpt from a current article:

Gone are the days when a woman police officer was acting as a social worker with a badge, and they now fill as many roles as male police officers do. Many companies are adjusting what they manufacture and sell to specifically meet the needs of women police officers. This is after years of providing only unisex products and using a one size fits most business model.

I'd like to thank David Griffith, editor of Police Magazine, for taking the time to read and review History in Blue. In part:

History in Blue is an excellent social history of women in law enforcement that's full of powerful stories of the creativity, determination, and courage of women on the job.

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers arrives on bookshelves in February 2010 from Kaplan Publishing (a division of the Washington Post Company), distributed by Simon & Schuster. Pre-order your copy now from the Simon & Schuster website or from Amazon.com, Borders.com, or BarnesandNoble.com. Or you can place an order at your local bookstore.

Early review for History in Blue

An early review just came in for my new book, History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers. Publication date is February 2, 2010. First up, a review by Frank Borelli, editor-in-chief of Officer.com (a police/law enforcement website) and a retired police officer:

". . . it caught and held my attention. . . . a very interesting book that draws you just enough into the lives and duties of women in the law enforcement field that you may find it difficult to put down. My own fairly narrow mindset gave way to an interest that pushed me to read much later into each evening than I had intended.

So, I recommend it to you. If you have any interest in the history of law enforcement, know a female officer, or are a woman considering entry into the field, this is good information you'll benefit from having — and it's pretty entertaining along the way."

Thanks very much for taking the time to read and review the book!

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers arrives on bookshelves in February 2010 from Kaplan Publishing (a division of the Washington Post Company), distributed by Simon & Schuster. Pre-order your copy now from the Simon & Schuster website or from Amazon.com, Borders.com, or BarnesandNoble.com. Or you can place an order at your local bookstore.

Harlan Glenn's "Battle Rats" on the Military Channel

Catch Harlan Glenn's new TV show "Battle Rats: Iwo Jima," a one-hour pilot for a proposed series, this month on the Military Channel. I've been fortunate to work with Harlan on a number of TV programs over the years, and it's thrilling to see his new show come together. Congratulations Harlan! Here's a trailer for the show:

Paper periodicals take another hit

Time, Inc.  — publisher of Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, and of course the venerable Time magazine  — will be announcing $100 million in cuts. This means that even more magazine staffers will be pink-slipped in large numbers. From the New York Times:

At Time Inc., cuts have already been heavy. A year ago, it announced it was dismissing about 600 people, or 6 percent of its staff. Since 2007, it has shut magazines including Business 2.0, Cottage Living, Southern Accents and Life, which it had revived as a newspaper supplement. A stricter expense-account policy has been in place for some time, and some magazines have decreased the weight of the paper they use.

Though I write for a variety of media, it's particularly heartbreaking to watch the painful demise of the newspaper and magazine industries. I don't think that paper periodicals will ever disappear completely, but online access to the hottest and latest news has made obsolete one of the biggest selling points of magazines and newspapers. It's been a slow process over the last decade or so, but the poor state of the economy isn't helping.

Best wishes to the staff and writers who fall to the latest swing of the sword. Hopefully they'll find new homes and continue to do what they love.

Everything old is new again

One of the neat things about doing historical research is that you often run into previous versions of today's ideas. History has a way of recycling itself. As each generation gives way to the next, certain items drop out of the collective consciousness, only to be resurrected later on.

While researching a new book I ran across an article from the Hagerstown (Md.) Morning Herald about eating six small meals a day to keep up energy levels and to affect body weight. That's something you hear from some of today's nutritional experts... except this mention of the idea was published on April 5, 1910 —  nearly a century ago. Dr. Joseph Aub talked to a panel at the American College of Physicians about "reducing" (weight loss), saying that

The... reducing diet is given, but spread over six meals. In eating so often, the hunger pangs do not get a chance to become really gnawing... This, however, is only the beginning of the benefits. After about a week, the stomachs of dieting persons shrink a little. Due to the smaller size, the stomach demands less food and appetite actually drops a bit.

A little more digging, and we come across Dr. Aub's papers at the Harvard Medical Library, which tell us a little more about him:

During World War I, [Dr. Aub] was part of [a Massachusetts General Hospital] unit that spent 20 months in France and treated soldiers with pneumonia at base hospitals. He also collaborated in France with ... physiologist Walter Cannon to study the effects of traumatic shock on the recently wounded.

Wonder what else I'll run across while going through old content? Research is an adventure, that's for sure.

(Photo of Dr. Aub via this link)

History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers

Here's the first mention of my new book! It has a new title: History in Blue: 160 Years of Women Police, Sheriffs, Detectives, and State Troopers. The publisher is Kaplan, a division of the Washington Post Company. Simon & Schuster is the distributor. Publication date is February 2, 2010. Here's some of the marketing copy:

Spanning 160 years, History in Blue is the first book to tell the riveting story of the uphill struggle for respect and recognition sustained by women in the modern police force. Featuring rare photographs and original interviews with pioneering female officers, this fascinating book chronicles the ongoing fight for equality in the world of law enforcement. In this vivid and remarkable history, Allan T. Duffin tells of the extraordinary women who broke down the barriers of gender so that they—and many generations of successors—could do the work they loved most.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement through all of the steps in the process: pitching, researching, writing, editing, design, and now publication. More news as it happens.