This remarkable memoir is set against the sweeping backdrop of US and international history in the final three decades of the twentieth century. Reid grew up in a black neighborhood in proximity to Baltimore City’s Druid Hill Park, where he first worked as a lifeguard and gathered with family and friends to picnic and play tennis and baseball. Later, as a Baltimore police officer, he patrolled the park. The Three Sisters Ponds stood then in an isolated section of the park, a serene setting that became Reid’s contemplative oasis where he could daydream about his future goals and seek solutions to his problems.

Reid discusses his difficulties with education growing up, probably due to dyslexia, a condition not well-researched in his rambunctious childhood. He didn’t seek a formal diagnosis in adulthood, preferring instead to push himself forward. Determined to succeed in his goals as a law enforcement officer, Reid enrolled in and graduated from a criminal justice program at the Community College of Baltimore. As he moved up the ladder in his career, he gradually surmounted his reading and writing difficulties, ultimately becoming a public speaker as a recruiter for BPD and eventually earning a four-year degree.

Reid writes, “I certainly took full advantage of the educational opportunities, career paths, and career advancement opportunities a law enforcement career offered.” These skills are clearly evident in this articulate, detailed account of his thirty-six-year law enforcement career, including twenty-eight years as an FBI agent in multiple jurisdictions. Readers will applaud Reid as he travels the world to root out terrorists, including the two men responsible for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This arresting page-turner often reads like a hybrid police procedural novel and FBI suspense thriller as Reid painstakingly reveals the details of his inspirational and multi-faceted career.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Return to USR Home