Paul Rude was one of nine children and lived in poverty on a farm until he graduated from high school. At 17 he joined the United States Air Force, where he served eight years, including an assignment with the Armed Forces Police in Washington, D.C. during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. After being discharged, Paul drifted from one dead-end job to another until, at the age of 32, he became an Illinois State Trooper. My Life's Highway, Paul's autobiography, is a fascinating record of his travels and experiences, taking the reader back to the Kennedy assassination, the Million Man March, Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, and the Cuban missile crisis. As a State Trooper, Paul describes working in downtown Chicago and at the State Fair, as well as some of the arrests he made-including a murderer, a rapist, an arsonist, an armed robber, and a carload of burglars-and his experiences with a psychic and as a youth officer. Paul overcame many obstacles in his life, which along with his military experience prepared him for a distinguished and decorated career in law enforcement. My Life's Highway offers a candid glimpse of his journey-a road filled with public service, devotion, and sacrifice.