Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
Sell Us Your Item
For a $1.81 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets [Paperback]

David Simon
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)

List Price: $20.00
Price: $15.07 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.93 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Tuesday, May 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $9.99  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $15.07  
Mass Market Paperback --  
Audio, Cassette, Abridged, Audiobook --  
Unknown Binding --  
Audible Audio Edition, Abridged $14.95 or Free with Audible 30-day free trial
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

August 22, 2006
From the creator of HBO's The Wire, the classic book about homicide investigation that became the basis for the hit television show

The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the center of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of hard men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world.

David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and this electrifying book tells the true story of a year on the violent streets of an American city. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator; Harry Edgerton, a black detective in a mostly white unit; and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the brutal rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl.

Originally published fifteen years ago, Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show of the same name. This new edition--which includes a new introduction, an afterword, and photographs--revives this classic, riveting tale about the men who work on the dark side of the American experience.

Frequently Bought Together

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets + The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood + The Wire: Truth Be Told
Price for all three: $43.75

Buy the selected items together


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 an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; Reprint edition (August 22, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805080759
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805080759
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 73 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing September 19, 2001
Format: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.
Was this review helpful to you?
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate Journalism July 28, 2000
Format: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.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The finest non-fiction book I have ever read March 15, 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars good read
very straight forward, actual reality between the police and the job. So refreshing not to be reading another Cop drama
Published 1 day ago by tom devine
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!
This is a real look at Homicide detectives working/playing together in the old days. This is when Police/Detectives were actually police. Read more
Published 6 days ago by T. Weaver
4.0 out of 5 stars Homicide
Always liked reading about police action and the law. Story telling was clear and to the point. David Simon tells it like it is. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Robert Dominiak
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Very interesting!
This book is a must read for any police officers, especially if u are getting into homicide investigations! Read more
Published 1 month ago by luv2read
5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book
In this truly monumental work of journalism (600-plus pages) the author takes us through a year in the Homicide Unit of the Baltimore Police Department. Read more
Published 1 month ago by zorba
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book, so detailed
Both Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire were created by David Simon, the author of this book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jerlow7
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Item was on time, I really like that although the book is used it is in great shape. Also the price was excellent.
Published 1 month ago by Eugenio Valles
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ
If you were a fan of the television show "Homicide: Life on the Streets" then this is a must read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mp mcgrath
5.0 out of 5 stars Before "The Wire", There Was "Homicide"...
I think I first ran across this book in the back shelves of my local library when I was about 14 or so (maybe 1996). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ana Sedai
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent book, definitely a sick read
This book will make your head spin, i'm sorry I waited this long to read it, but this book today
Published 2 months ago by mouse
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
Smaller city cops
Rory, a great book that fits that description is Anderson's "Shadow People: how meth-driven crime is eating at the heart of rural America." Like "Homicide," it's a first-person narrative from a journalist who spent something like 2 years embedded with rural county sheriffs... Read more
Jun 3, 2012 by Jake |  See all 3 posts
Homicide by David Simon, differences between UK Canongate edition and NA... Be the first to reply
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 






Look for Similar Items by Category