Michael Berish

75, Male

New Smyrna Beach, FL

United States

Profile Information:

Hometown:

Poughkeepsie, New York

About Me:

My name is Michael Berish. I worked as a patrolman, a detective, and as a supervisor with the City of Miami Police Department for twenty-two years; thirteen of which were spent as an undercover detective in the REAL Miami Vice, where I worked everything from Narcotics & Vice, Prostitution, Gambling and Pornography, to Dignitary Protection of President Jose Napoleon Duarte (of El Salvador) and Pope John Paul II.
I've written screenplays, plays and my police stories have been published in numerous national magazines and won several writing awards.
My new book, Reflections from the Pit ("the Pit" is the downtown ghetto in the City of Miami), was awarded BEST FICTION NOVEL in the 2008 Public Safety Writers Association's annual writing competition.
Judge’s comments on book:
"This is an intriguing book with many fascinating stories that certainly reveal a side of police work that’s seldom written about or shown on television. The author has a unique voice with a spark of humor that keeps the reader turning the pages. The characters were three-dimensional and intriguing to read about—police and criminals. All the dialogue was crisp and realistic. For anyone wanting to know the nitty-gritty and often dark side of police work, this is the book to read…"
* * *
Review by E. Howard Hunt
"That fellow (Berish) has a real talent for writing a story. That's excellent work."
(American Author of 63 novels, C.I.A. spy, and the coordinator of Watergate)
* * *
This book pulls no punches. It shows you the dark side of police work: the good, the bad and the ugly (warts & all), both the humor and the tragedy. When you are finished reading it, you’ll say to yourself: “I never knew people, much less cops like this, ever existed."
This anthology of short stories is not just another collection of rehashed police stories with shootouts, car chases, and damsels in distress. Reflections from the Pit contains individual, quirky, off-center characters. The stories focus on basic character flaws while dealing with social issues of the day: racism, hangings from police cruisers, sexism, affirmative action, prejudice, drug-dealing cops and corruption, homelessness, segregation, and police brutality. These reflections, covering more than one hundred years of history in Miami, give one pause for thought and a peek into the human swamp of life in "the Pit."
For more information about myself, my book (plus, three free stories to read), visit my WEBSITE at: www.realmiamivice.com
While you are there, make sure you click on the category entitled: AUTHOR BLOG (MUST SEE!, or you can go to the blog's own page at: www.realmiamivice.net ). It has a potpourri of interesting materials; it has tons of videos: everything from weird 911 calls; the most unusual people and situations one would ever encounter; cop blunders on the street; a wonderful site on animals that love from the heart; informative photos with text about the myths of the Old West like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid; radio interviews about my career on the force; and music, everthing from Romantic Latin songs, Italian Love songs, the Blues and some Country, to Rock ‘N Roll and Pop music. It's a must see; guaranteed to make you smile, hopefully laugh, and maybe even touch a few heart strings.

I Am A:

Writer

Website:

http://www.realmiamivice.com

Books And Authors I Like:

Johnnie Got His Gun by Dalton Trumble.
To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy
Papillon by Henri Charriere.
Any of the writings by: Truman Capote, O. Henry, Marcel Proust, Elmore Leonard, Gustave Flaubert, William Faulkner, Joseph Wambaugh, T.C. Boyle, Charles Dickens, Irwin Shaw (loved his book: The Young Lions; was made into a movie with Marlin Brando, Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin in 1958).

Movies And TV Shows I Like:

On the Waterfront, Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, Cool Hand Luke, Hud, Casablanca, Sahara (1943 version with Humphrey Bogart), The Godfather (I & II), The African Queen, Raging Bull, E.T., Taxi Driver, The French Connection, The Deer Hunter, The Sorcerer, Cohen and Tate, Blue Thunder, A Streetcar named Desire, Spartacus, 12 Angry Men, Ben-Hur.

Any movies starring: Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman.

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