Given unlimited access to the life and work of a New York City cop, Arlene Schulman takes us along on Steven Mayfield's beat. From a tense standoff with an angry crowd to the monotony of patrolling on a quiet night to the citywide emergencies like the attack on the World Trade Center, the rhythms of this police officer's work are captured in vivid prose and intimate black-and-white photography. We meet the residents of Officer Mayfield's beat, those who welcome his protection and those who hate the sight of a cop. We see the TV-type moments and also the patient listening, watchfulness, and paperwork that are the unglamorous side of policing. And most clearly, we see a police officer's essential role in the survival of a community.Young people will be mesmerized by this in-depth, sometimes gritty look at the true work of a cop.