Trooper Down: Life and Death on the Highway Patrol

Using officers of the North Carolina Highway Patrol as representative of state troopers across the country, Asheville Citizen-Times police reporter Bartlett writes of the careers and lives of those who do this work. After rigorous training, troopers are usually sent to areas where they and county sheriff's officers are the only law enforcers. Their routine patrolling of highways, looking for speeders and drunk drivers, is often anything but routine, particularly when they try to intercept fleeing criminals or have to take charge at the scene of an auto accident. But their work has its humorous side, too, especially when motorists try to wheedle their way out of citations. Bartlett presents both male and female officers, their family lives and their views of the job. Photos not seen by PW. Paperback rights to Pocket Books. (October)