Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department is a 2012 non-fiction book by Mitchel P. Roth and Tom Kennedy, published by the University of North Texas Press, chronicling the history of the Houston Police Department.[1]
Jesús Jesse Esparza, in a journal article, described the book as one of "several seminal works [that] deal with the issue of police misconduct".[2]
The first author, Roth, is a professor at Sam Houston State University and the second, Kennedy, at one time wrote newspaper articles for the Houston Post. The book was produced in a six year period after the Houston Police Officers' Union hired both authors in 2004. The authors consulted archives as part of their research.[1]
The creators of the book conducted around 100 interviews. The photographs printed in the illustrations are shown without color.[3]
Brian D. Behnken of Iowa State University, in his review in The Journal of Southern History, criticized the book not having "a clear thesis" and a "lack of a consistent, critical, and analytical focus".[4] He praised the inclusion of women and ethnic minority police officers and "some interesting facts".[4] He particularly criticized how the authors support police unions but oppose other unions. He concluded that "Unfortunately, the book's weaknesses outweigh its strengths."[4]