Tentatively, Convenience's Reviews > Hey Cabbie

Being a cabbie in Baltimore is practically suicidal. To be one, you have to be desperate or crazy or confident of yr ability to handle highly dangerous people or SOMETHING. I've had a fair amt of friends who've done it. One cabbie friend told me of somebody trying to stick him up - he proceeded to drive as fast as he cd, running all the red lights. He figured that if he were going to die, he'd kill the robber at the same time. He also hoped that the cops wd be called on him. He scared the wd-be stick-up guy so much that he ran from the car when my friend eventually stopped. He told me that another time he was ready to drive off the side of a highway ramp for the same reason. That's how crazed you can get being a taxi-driver (or a pedestrian, for that matter) in Baltimore.

SO, given that this bk was written by a former vice-squad cop turned cabbie, you can expect a pretty good view of what cabbies see. I knew this author, he used to come into the bkstore where I worked & this bk is a signed copy. I remember liking him, nice guy, personable to talk w/ about subjects of mutual interest. I don't remember thinking the writing was that great but, what the hey!, he's not 1st & foremost a writer, he's a guy trying to tell a story about his experiences. The bk's just fine. It's not all sensationalist stories about deadly people, there're interesting tidbits about what people from different lifestyles will call a cabbie: "Mack", eg. He even criticizes the way some cops treated him. That's particularly noteworthy given that he's a former cop.