Bernard Kerik is a former New York City police commissioner. Kerik always kept a low profile in his job. He was not a man who sought publicity. And then came the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Suddenly, Kerik's face was all over the national and international news. He organized and led the highly-praised police response following the attacks.

In his autobiography, Bernard Kerik talks about the rocky road that led him into police work. He dropped out of high school, then entered his chosen profession. He worked his way up to the top of the organization. In the meantime, Kerik--who was adopted--began searching for his birth mother. In his search, the former police commissioner uncovered a huge irony. His mother was an alcoholic and prostitute who abandoned him as a toddler. She wa…