The book is divided into 15 chapters, thirteen of which cover the various subspecies. Information on their native range, morphology, life history, current status, as well as their management (or mismanagement as the case may be) is included in each chapter. The first two chapters include an overview of the species as a whole, evolution, and prehistoric distributions. There is also a forward by Dr. Trout himself, Robert Behnke in which he gives his blessing to the book and adds much credibility to the information within.

One of the finest things about the book is its readability. Trotter is a fisherman turned biologist and the text reflects this by being unassuming yet very informative. I gave the book a 9 only because it suffers from a slight case of outdatedness as it was published in 1987. Much knowledge has been gained on the subject since, but the book is still a very important overview of Cutthroat trout ecology and noone who professes to understand salmonids should be caught without having read it.