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Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: perfect year, admin lieutenant, homicide lexicon, Fish Man, Latonya Wallace, Dave Brown (more...)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
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  Kindle Edition, August 22, 2006 $7.99 -- --
  Hardcover, May 31, 1991 -- -- --
  Paperback, August 21, 2006 $12.92 -- --
  Mass Market Paperback, January 22, 1993 $7.99 -- --
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Frequently Bought Together

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets + The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood + The Corner (HBO Miniseries)
Price For All Three: $36.44

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  • This item: Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This 1992 Edgar Award winner for best fact crime is nothing short of a classic. David Simon, a police reporter for the Baltimore Sun, spent the year 1988 with three homicide squads, accompanying them through all the grim and grisly moments of their work--from first telephone call to final piece of paperwork. The picture that emerges through a masterful accumulation of details is that homicide detectives are a rare breed who seem to thrive on coffee, cigarettes, and persistence, through an endlessly exhausting parade of murder scenes. As the Washington Post writes, "We seem to have an insatiable appetite for police stories.... David Simon's entry is far and away the best, the most readable, the most reliable and relentless of them all.... An eye for the scenes of slaughter and pursuit and an ear for the cadences of cop talk, both business and banter, lend Simon's account the fascination that truth often has." --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.


From Publishers Weekly

Baltimore Sun reporter Simon spent a year tracking the homicide unit of his city's police, following the officers from crime scenes to interrogations to hospital emergency rooms. With empathy, psychological nuance, racy verbatim dialogue and razor-sharp prose, he offers a rare insider's look at the detective's tension-wracked world. Presiding over a score of sleuths is commander Gary D'Addario, "connoisseur of survival" who grapples with political intrigue, massive red tape and "red balls" (major, difficult cases). His detectives include Tom Pelligrini, obsessed with solving the rape-murder of an 11-year-old girl; Rich Garvey, whose "perfect year" is upset by a murder case that collapses in court; and black, cosmopolitan Harry Edgerton, a lone wolf, son of a jazz pianist. This hectic daily log reveals the detective's beat on Baltimore's mean streets (234 murders in 1988) to be brutal, bureaucratic and, occasionally, mundane.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (August 22, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805080759
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805080759
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,143 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #4 in  Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Espionage
    #8 in  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Urban
    #12 in  Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Criminology

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More About the Author

David Simon
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Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
perfect year, admin lieutenant, homicide lexicon, large interrogation room, ident photo, district lockup, sector sergeant, primary detective, annex office, homicide office, trace lab, administrative lieutenant, auto thief, common alley, shift lieutenant, shooting call, younger detective, older detective, cemetery manager, prosecution report, homicide work, wire mesh window, homicide man, robbery detective
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fish Man, Latonya Wallace, Dave Brown, Monroe Street, Vincent Booker, Reservoir Hill, Eddie Brown, Newington Avenue, Robert Frazier, Eugene Dale, West Baltimore, Donald Worden, Rich Garvey, Whitelock Street, Tom Pellegrini, Jay Landsman, Harry Edgerton, Rick James, Central District, Roger Nolan, Gene Cassidy, Penn Street, Geraldine Parrish, Big Man, Western District
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
84% buy the item featured on this page:
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets 4.8 out of 5 stars (72)
$12.92
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood
5% buy
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood 4.6 out of 5 stars (70)
$11.53
The Wire: Truth Be Told
3% buy
The Wire: Truth Be Told 3.9 out of 5 stars (10)
$13.57
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Customer Reviews

72 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (72 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, September 19, 2001
By Jeffrey Ellis "bored recluse" (Richardson, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Homicide (Mass Market Paperback)
Appropriately enough, one of the best cop shows in the history of television was based on one of the best true crime books ever written. Journalist David Simon spent a year observing Baltimore Homicide detectives and it is their poignantly true stories -- almost all as funny, heartbreaking, and memorable as any fiction -- that make up this book. While fans of the TV show will immediately recognize the initial templates for such beloved characters as Frank Pembleton, Bayliss, Munch, and others, this amazing book is much more than just a basis for a classic television show. It is, quite simply, one of the most insightful books about modern law and order ever written. All of the detectives live brilliantly on the page and Simon's prose reminds us what great writing actually is. Though this is a word I've probably overused in this review, there is no other way to describe Simon's achievement: amazing.


 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The finest non-fiction book I have ever read, March 15, 2000
By PF (staunton, va United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Homicide (Mass Market Paperback)
Simon's Homicide reads not as a murder mystery, not as a documentary, and not as a dramatic novel, but as a life lived in the Baltimore homicide unit. The reader does not feel passive, as though he were watching the goings-on through a filter like a television or even a bystander. The reader is there, with the detectives, sharing their experiences, sharing their very thoughts. This book is a masterpiece, a book that completely enthralls you to the point where during the time you are reading, nothing means more to you than the resolution of each case, each obstacle, each crisis. Please, do yourself a favor and read this remarkable book.


 
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate Journalism, July 28, 2000
This review is from: Homicide (Mass Market Paperback)
I've always felt that the main problem with the TV show version of "Homicide" is that, good as it is, it just can't match the gritty realism of the book it is based on. Journalist David Simon spent a year as a fly on the wall observing the Balitimore Police Homicide Unit, and dutifully recording everything he saw by and large without editorial comment. The result is absolutely indespensible for anyone with an interest in law enforcement. Being a homicide detectives is a tough job both emotionally and professionally with many hours of tedium that can often result in the frustration of an unsolved case. Particularly poignant is the story of a unsolved child murder case that haunts one of the detectives to the point of endagering his mental well being. The value of this book to the nation's hard working law enforcement professionals simply cannot be understated.

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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Underwhelming
Given the hype, I expected to like this book more than I did. As the author was "embedded" with the detectives there is little balance in his reportage of them.
Published 12 days ago by David Wasley

4.0 out of 5 stars Been there and done it
I was very familar with this book as I am a former member of the Baltimore homicide unit. I did not have a chance in the past to read it, but now that I am retired I read it and...
Published 25 days ago by Richard Ellwood

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Plot, author has difficulty presenting it
The author develops this plot so slowly that I'm amazed he is a journalist by profession. Perhaps that's a refelction of why journalism today is so lousy.
Published 2 months ago by Hugh S. Somsen

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a satisfied customer
Thanks for sending my book in a timely matter. I will order from this person again.
Published 4 months ago by Lisa

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, and quite seriously: the real deal.
May I also recommend: Soothing Music for Stray Cats by Jayne Joso, a London novel; and The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon

A...
Published 5 months ago by Verve

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Well-written Account!
I came upon this book after finishing The Wire, and like many others, I was so thoroughly impressed with that series that I wanted more...
Published 5 months ago by Mylifeyourmovie

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and unsettling
Of course, I came to this book through The Wire: The Complete Series. I knew that this book and The Corner was the basis for at least the first season.
Published 6 months ago by Tim Lieder

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read
Seriously. This book was incredible. First off, it's a fascinating insight into the workings of a major city homicide unit.
Published 9 months ago by Bradley Nelson

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one that started it all.
Before the acclaimed television series "Homicide - Life on the Street", "The Corner", and, of course, "The Wire", there was this book.
Published 10 months ago by Laurie Fletcher

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
If you love The Wire or Homicide TV series, this book is going to blow you away. If you not familar with those shows and just love a great, well written and engaging book, this...
Published 11 months ago by Donna M. Funk

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