"The anomalous and isolated status of sheriffs is reflected in media coverage and academic research as well. Individual sheriffs like the notorious Joe Arpaio, former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, may gain significant local or even national attention, but consistent, systemic scrutiny is rare. So The Power of the Badge, a new book by political scientists Emily M. Farris and Mirya R. Holman, is long overdue." * Salon * "In this sweeping treatise, Farris and Holman, offer a must-read account of American sheriffs immense power, propensity for corruption and extremism, demographic and ideological unrepresentativeness, and insulated authority. The Power of the Badge demonstrates both the importance of studying sheriffs and the ways in which the office is a lens into the profitability of the carceral state, the maintenance of racial hierarchy, conditions for electoral accountability, and the operation of local politics and policy more broadly." -- Jessica Trounstine | Vanderbilt University The Power of the Badge is a groundbreaking political analysis of sheriffs and the ways they govern communities throughout the US. Connecting the past to the present and drawing on original survey research, Farris and Holman provide readers with an incisive, empirically grounded study of politics and governance in local arenas that scholars have long ignored. Engaging and accessible, The Power of the Badge deserves to be read by a wide audience of experts, policymakers, students, and members of the public. -- Joe Soss | coauthor of "Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race"