ADVANTAGE BOOKSTORE

DESCRIPTION

The release of Streets of Fire could not be better timed; we need his story now! If you are COP (i.e., Constable on Patrol) Bob understands you. If you like intrigue, grit, excitement and nail biting action, read on! If you are a father, Bob’s a great example: his three sons prove that. If you are a young person looking for a roll-model, Bob’s book is for you. If you are a hooker being controlled by your pimp, or an addiction, please read on. If you are a College student looking for a quick and exciting read, this is it! Or, if you are simply tired of insipid books that don’t carry much weight nor deliver much punch, and you are looking for a book that delivers entertainment, counsel, intrigue, suspense, and—the occasional shock factor--then this book is for you!

A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Searle spent approximately 23 years in law Enforcement after serving in the Vietnam War. Most of that time was with the Oakland California Police Department. There he worked as a Patrol Officer; as a Field Training Officer; Undercover Agent for The Federal Organized Crime Task Force; Sergeant in Patrol; and as a Sergeant in Major Narcotics Violators Unit of The Vice Squad.

EXCERPT PREVIEW

Some men are larger-than-life; Bob Searle is one of those. Bob’s life story needs to be told; it also needs to be read by anyone who wants a full dose of street-smart and street-hardened reality. Real men cry. Real men bleed. Real men accept seemingly impossible assignments, and not only live to tell it, but also succeed at the tasks they were assigned. My brother Bob is such a man. In this book you will find challenge, hope, and consolation, as well as first-class entertainment. And, if I were a betting man, I’d wager that after you have read it, you will think of five other people who also need to read Streets of Fire.

Bob was not a nice guy by nature. Bob was a tough guy. (I know because I was Bob’s little brother, commonly known as “Little Kenny”.) One story that you will not read in this book comes from Bob’s life at age three. (I was not born for another six years—but Mom used to love telling me this story!) One day, when Bob was living in Birmingham, Alabama where he was born, he came home with a mouth full of black hair. Again, Bob was only three years old. Mom began pulling out lots of black hair from Bob’s mouth. Soon, Mom began to worry whose hair this might be! Finally, she asked, “Bobby, what’s all this hair doing in your mouth?” With what came to be known as Bob’s indomitable resolve, Bob declared, “That dog bit me!”

You did not want to mess with my brother Bob. By age 25 or so, he was bench pressing over 400 lbs and had biceps that measured twenty-one-and-one-half inches (the same size as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s when he was Mr. Olympia). Instead of threatening to rearrange somebody’s face, as I might, Bob would simply say to his new opponent—and if you were not Bob’s good friend or a family member, you were his opponent-- “I’m going to put you through that wall!” Between the size of Bob’s arms and the intensity of his gaze, it was not uncommon for grown men to either begin crying or simply wet their pants. Like I said before, you did not want to mess with my brother Bob.

But something amazing happened to Bob at age 26. Living in L.A., a Viet Nam vet, and working in the aeronautics industry that he had studied for at San Jose State University years before, Bob was watching a TV show . . .But I’m sure Bob tells this story in this book; so I won’t “steal his thunder”. You’ll like the way Bob tells it, I’m sure.

Technically, I’m no longer “Little Kenny”. I’m now known as “Double Doc”, because I have two earned doctorates and serve as the Academic Dean of a college in Oakland, California. Even so, I take off my hat to Bob Searle, because, in my opinion, he may still be the best storyteller on the planet! And his stories need telling!

A word about Oakland (where much of Bob’s story is framed): two weeks ago—as I write this foreword—four Oakland police officers were gunned down in the line of duty. The news reports agree that it has not been this bad in Oakland in 40 years. The comparable year that they are referring to was my brother Bob’s rookie season as an Oakland cop, when five Oakland police officers were killed in the line of duty. The release of Bob’s story could not be better timed; we need his story now! Who might benefit from reading this book?

• If you are a COP (i.e., Constable on Patrol), Bob understands you.

• If you are a Macho Man, you will relate to Bob.

•If you like intrigue, grit, excitement and nail-biting action, read on!

• If you are a father, Bob’s a great example; his three sons prove that.

• If you are a young person looking for a role model, Bob’s book is for you.

• If you are a hooker being controlled by your pimp, or by an addiction, please read on.

• If you are a college student looking for a quick and exciting read, this is it!

Or, if you are simply tired of insipid books that don’t carry much weight nor deliver much punch, and you are looking for a book that delivers entertainment, counsel, intrigue, suspense--and the occasional shock factor--then this book is for you!

Kenneth P. Searle, D. Min, Ph.D.

Academic Dean, SUM (i.e., School of Urban Missions—a Bible & Ministerial Training College), 735 – 105th Ave., Oakland, CA 94601, www.sum.edu