Midnights: A Year with the Wellfleet Police

By Alec Wilkinson

Book Overview

"Midnights is both a comedy of errors and an affectionate portrait of small-town police, those beleaguered souls charged with the task of keeping their neighbors in line....A reminder that those assigned to protect are often vulnerable and quietly heroic."--Time

Funny, touching, revealing, here is the view from a rookie cop's patrol car, during midnight shifts, in a (mostly) peaceful town. With a rich cast of characters, this is a classic memoir of the fear, surprises, excitement, embarrassment that comes with a protecting and serving a small community.

"When I was twenty-three years old, five months out of college, with a degree in music, and without any idea of what to do with myself, I took a job as a policeman in Wellfleet, Massachusetts," so writes Alec Wilkinson. "Music, huh?" the police chief said during the job interview. "That'll be a big help." Wilkinson's main qualification was familiarity with the town of 2,000 people from summers there growing up. Committing himself to a year wearing a uniform and carrying a gun, and with no training, Wilkinson was sent out to keep the peace, hoping nothing would happen.

There are high-speed chases and stopping drunk drivers, one of whom tries to set Wilkinson's hair on fire. There are domestic squabbles. "The first six months were murder for me," Wilkinson's partner confides on his first night. "After that, when I found out the people I thought were my friends weren't really my friends, I felt better off." There is an attempted bank robbery. The teller convinces the robber that his haul ($300) is too much to carry around in cash. The robber is still listening to investment options when the police arrive.

Throughout there are conversations with his eight fellow officers who Wilkinson comes to respect and admire. "Nobody ever calls you when they're behaving themselves," one admits. "As a rule, you always get called when people are at their worst. It's sad. It depresses me." The job is often thankless. "Right now I work on the police force," another officer says, "my wife stamps cans in the supermarket, and she makes more money than I do."

This is experiential journalism at its most poignant and entertaining--and it launched the career of Alec Wilkinson: writer, interviewer, essayist, and author. This is for any reader looking for insight into the real lives of police officers, outside of large cities, across America. It is also for anyone looking for a marvelously engaging read.

Midnights is part of Godine's Nonpareil series: celebrating the joy of discovery with books bound to be classics.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567927505
• ISBN13: 9781567927504
• Release Date: January 2023
• Publisher: Nonpareil Books
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

An interesting and literate book

MIDNIGHTS is a well-written and interesting account of the author's year as a small town policeman, a job for which he was not ideally suited. Mr. Wilkinson gives the reader insight into not only his own point of view, but presents the reader with a look at the police skills and personality of each of his co-workers (as noted, it was a small force). The book is, while not laugh-out-loud funny, gently humorous and the author does not take himself overly seriously. This book is insightful and is well worth reading.

An entertaining look at small town police work

I have long enjoyed Alec Wilkinson's work in the New Yorker, so it was a treat to discover "Midnights." It's a marvelous read. Wilkinson's style is spare and elegant, and his candor about his shortcomings as a cop makes for some hilarious moments. I plan to buy a copy for my policeman brother-in-law, but anyone will enjoy this fine book.

Cape Cod Cop: a.k.a. Officer "Crash"

I won't tell you why Alec Wilkinson was given the dubious nickname of "Crash" while he served on the Wellfleet Police force. You'll have to read the book to try and figure that one out! What I can tell you is that Midnights is one of the most amusing true stories I have ever read. It's like a real-life Mayberry.. Barney Fife and all! Originally published in 1982, Wilkinson describes his personal experiences as a small town cop on Cape Cod. Fresh out of college with a music degree, he was looking for work in the summer of '75. Wilkinson gave law enforcement a try. So what if he had no police training! As you will read, it was one bizarre summer and off-season that followed. Memorable too. And Wilkinson candidly recounts his year with the men in blue, often with sidesplitting humor! It's no wonder why this comical gem is back in print.