The life of a New York City police officer， with the NYPD running through his veins: a highly anticipated nonfiction epic-destined to be a classic. The excitement began from the moment of its acquisition in the fall of 1998， when major news organizations， including The New York Times， reported the sale of a book by the NYPD officer who wrote the "Cop s Diary" in The New Yorker， under the pseudonym Marcus Laffey. Now delivered， Blue Blood is a bona fide literary masterpiece， an important book about what it means to protect， to serve， and to defend among the ranks of New York s finest. Conlon s canvas is great and complicated-he is the product of generations involved in law enforcement， good cops and bad-and the story he tells is impossibly rich: it presents an anecdotal history of New York through its police force， and paints a vivid portrait of the teeming street life of the city in all its horror and splendor. It is a story about fathers and sons， partners who become brothers， old ghosts and undying legacies. Here you will see terms like loyalty， commitment， and honor come alive， in action， on a daily basis. With brio and a thrilling literary style， Conlon depicts his life on the force-from his first days walking a beat in the South Bronx to his ascent to detective. The pace is relentless， the stories hypnotic， the scope nothing less than grand. Edward Conlon is a son of the Bronx， who still lives and works there. His father was a police officer who left the NYPD to join the FBI. His uncle was a lifelong officer of the NYPD. His great grandfather was a crooked cop-a dandy who "carried the bag on Atlantic Avenue"-during the Tammany Hall era. Blue Blood brings together a gifted writer with a subject he owns: Conlon captures the exquisite detail， the hilarious exchange of dialogue， the tragic and the marvelous， experienced firsthand， day after day. He has the Irish gift of storytelling， an old-school delivery， a killer sense of irony， and a sentimental heart. Conlon s father envisioned bigger things for his son， the Harvard graduate; but to Conlon， there is no greater job in the world. He answered the call. In the end， you know why he s a cop， why anyone becomes a cop. Without question， Blue Blood will be one of the most talked about and celebrated books of the year.