He wrote 'The Onion Field,' 'The New Centurions' and 'The Blue Knight' and created the realistic anthology series 'Police ...

Mr. Wambaugh’s best-selling books included the Los Angeles police novels “The New Centurions” and the true crime drama “The ...

Former Los Angeles police officer turned best- selling author Joseph Wambaugh, known for books such as "The Onion Field" and ...

In novels like “The Glitter Dome” and nonfiction works like “The Onion Field,” he took a harsh, unglamorous look at the ...

A former Los Angeles police officer who wrote "The Onion Fields," Joseph Wambaugh tried to "put people in the cops' skin" in ...

In 1971, eleven years after joining the LAPD, Wambaugh saw his first novel, The New Centurions, published by Little, Brown ...

Joseph Wambaugh, the former LAPD officer who brought realism to the "Police Story" TV series and books like "The Onion Field, ...

(Photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego) Former Los Angeles police officer turned best- selling author Joseph Wambaugh, known for books such as “The Onion Field” and “The New Centurions ...

Bestselling crime novelist Joseph Wambaugh, who mined his own experience as a Los Angeles police officer, has died at 88.

Before the release of Joseph Wambaugh’s first novel, “The New Centurions,” he received an unusual offer from the star of the straitlaced TV police drama “Dragnet” to look over the pages.

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr. was born on Jan. 22, 1937 ... but one editor offered encouragement by suggesting that he take a stab at creating a full-length novel. His first effort was The New ...