A Must Read - Homicide - A Year on the Killing Streets
Discussion
I posted this in another thread but thinks it deserves a stand alone recommendation .
Every so often you come across an absolute gem of a book. I just discovered " Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets" by David Simon ( who created The Wire and Homicide - Life on the Streets). Described by Norman Mailer as the best book about homicide detectives by an American writer, it's certainly the best I've read. It's incredibly articulate and intelligently written. It reads like a cross between a thriller and a documentary. It includes cases in which a single piece of inspiration or clue solved a case. It describes what it must be like to be a homicide detective and the way different detectives have different approaches within set procedures and what they must think about at crime scenes. It could probably serve as a training manual for new detectives. It references real cases. It also gives a sharp insight into life in Baltimore and how policing changed over the years. I've never felt more compelled to recommend a book because it's truly brilliant.
Every so often you come across an absolute gem of a book. I just discovered " Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets" by David Simon ( who created The Wire and Homicide - Life on the Streets). Described by Norman Mailer as the best book about homicide detectives by an American writer, it's certainly the best I've read. It's incredibly articulate and intelligently written. It reads like a cross between a thriller and a documentary. It includes cases in which a single piece of inspiration or clue solved a case. It describes what it must be like to be a homicide detective and the way different detectives have different approaches within set procedures and what they must think about at crime scenes. It could probably serve as a training manual for new detectives. It references real cases. It also gives a sharp insight into life in Baltimore and how policing changed over the years. I've never felt more compelled to recommend a book because it's truly brilliant.
Can second this, absolutely fantastic read.
Probably one of my favourite non-fiction reads of the last ten years.
I also thought the comments in the revised forward were very telling, about how they right the story as they see it and that if people feel it's biased towards or away from a subject, i.e in this case, the police it's because it's true to life and not their own bias.
Great read and great stories.
Probably one of my favourite non-fiction reads of the last ten years.
I also thought the comments in the revised forward were very telling, about how they right the story as they see it and that if people feel it's biased towards or away from a subject, i.e in this case, the police it's because it's true to life and not their own bias.
Great read and great stories.
After watching The Wire first time time round it left a hole and was quickly filled by reading David Simon, George Pelecanos, Richard Price and Dennis LeHane; the last three contributed to the script.
The Corner is another great read and a great accompaniment to Homicide... It serves as the flipside by following an inner city Baltimore neighbourhood ravaged by drugs, particularly one family with different relationships with drugs and on different ends of the spectrum of hope and hopelessness.
Another recommendation is Clockers by Richard Price. The dialogue, particularly from the Projects in on point and no wonder Simon wanted him for The Wire.
The Corner is another great read and a great accompaniment to Homicide... It serves as the flipside by following an inner city Baltimore neighbourhood ravaged by drugs, particularly one family with different relationships with drugs and on different ends of the spectrum of hope and hopelessness.
Another recommendation is Clockers by Richard Price. The dialogue, particularly from the Projects in on point and no wonder Simon wanted him for The Wire.
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