The Blue View

“The hardest thing about being a police officer is you have to solve everyone else’s problems when you can’t even solve your own.”

This book is an unedited and raw journal written by a police officer over a thirty-year period. From his first day in the police academy to his last day as the Chief of Police in Middletown, Ohio, home of Hillbilly Elegy, you will feel as though you are right there with the author through the entire book, in a uniform, in a cruiser, and in his personal life.

Never written to be released to the public, this easy to read format portrays the actual unfiltered personal journals of Chief Rodney Muterspaw, an award-winning Ohio Police Chief and Congressional guest at the Presidential State of the Union. You will feel the gamut of emotions as you follow him as a rookie, a patrol officer, investigator, narcotics officer, internal affairs supervisor, a Chief of Police, and a parent in one of the most well-known smaller cities in the Midwest.

The Blue View will draw you in emotionally, as you will finally have access to the behind-the-scenes thoughts and experiences that most police officers will not talk about. It doesn’t matter what side you are on, it is a must read. It will change the way you think about law enforcement.

MORE ABOUT THE BLUE VIEW

Rodney Muterspaw was, for decades, a pillar of the community in Middletown—rising from junior officer on the Middletown Police force to chief during the height of the opioid epidemic. And for that entire time, he kept this incredible diary, chronicling the highs, lows, and hilarious moments of community policing. In these pages, you gain an appreciation for him, the man.
— J. D. Vance, Author of the New York Times Best Seller and Netflix Blockbuster, Hillbilly Elegy.

Breathtaking! I grew up in the same streets as Muterspaw, but many years before he did. His vivid writing and perceptive storytelling help me to see its changes—its tragedies and its triumphs—through the world of its police. Part police drama, part social study, the chief offers valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t for the cops in an economically struggling rust belt town.
— Clarence Page, 1989 Pulitzer Prize-Winning syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board.

The Blue View presents a view of policing that is unlike anything I have ever read before. Beyond the good, the bad, and the ugly, Muterspaw has tracked his career in a raw and unvarnished way that will make you laugh and cry. While his self-deprecating sense of humor is the driving force of the book, he uses it to highlight real problems and real solutions within the increasingly complex world of policing.
— Stephen Robert Morse, Emmy Nominated Producer of Netflix’s Amanda Knox.

Jaw dropping! A truly honest look into a police officer’s personal world. Rewarding, heartbreaking, comical and inspiring! I laughed, I cried, and I loved it! A must read!
— Karin Johnson, WLWT Cincinnati News.

Incredibly raw, and