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Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets Paperback – August 22, 2006

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4.7 out of 5 stars 227 customer reviews
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The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts: Murder and Memory in an American City by Laura Tillman
"The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts" by Laura Tillman
In Cold Blood meets Random Family in the harrowing and profoundly personal investigation into the causes, effects, and communal toll of a deeply troubling crime in Brownsville, Texas. Learn more
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; Reprint edition (August 22, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805080759
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805080759
  • Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (227 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing
By Jeffrey Ellis on 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBest Cop Book Ever
By B. Cross on October 25, 2005
Format: Mass Market Paperback
I will keep this short: I have been a city cop for almost eighteen years and I defy anyone to find a better book about policework than this one. This is the closest you can come to knowing what being a cop is all about short of actually wearing a badge.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFirst Rate Journalism
By Brian D. Rubendall HALL OF FAME on 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe finest non-fiction book I have ever read
By Paul Fidalgo on March 15, 2000
Format: Mass Market Paperback 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 52 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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4.0 out of 5 starsBeen there and done it
By Richard Ellwood on November 8, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
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 thoroughly enjoyed it. I know most of the homicide members that are mentioned in the unit and some of them worked in my squad when I was there. It certainly depicts what goes on daily in the Baltimore homicide unit.
1 Comment 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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4.0 out of 5 starsA Candid look at a Year in the Life of a Homicide Division
By S. Katsurinis on April 5, 2000
Format: Mass Market Paperback
I picked up this book without realizing that it was the genesis of the television program by the same name, and I was immediately dragged in to the stories. Written as a yearlong narrative of the events and personalities of the Baltimore Police Homicide Division, it really gives the reader a feeling of being along for the investigation. The dialogue and descriptions are so realistic and insightful that I found myself wondering how the Detectives felt to read this objective reflection of themselves. The pacing of the book contributes to the overall effectiveness of the narrative by educating the reader slowly as to the characters, the lingo and the mentality of a Baltimore homocide detective. By the end (and I was sorry to have it end) I felt like I knew the detectives and the criminals and the victims and their families. If you like true crime, this is the book for you!
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5.0 out of 5 starsthe absolute best of its kind
By Tyler Hewson on November 10, 2004
Format: Mass Market Paperback
The television show was excellent, but HOMICDE the book is much better. It is perhaps one of the finest pieces of narrative non-fiction of the past 50 years. David Simon's background as a journalist for the Sun makes him uniquely qualified to examine the inner workings of a homicide unit, and to lay bare the shortcomings and serious flaws of Baltimore's city government (the action in the book takes place during the worst of the crack wars in the late 80s, but it's remarkable how little things have changed).

What's more, Simon writes with great deadpan humor and is able to find both humanity and wit in this true-life story of the "murder police." He is truly one of the most accomplished narrative writers of our time. I also highly recommend THE CORNER, another look into Baltimore's gritty urban landscape.
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3.0 out of 5 starsPhotos missing from Kindle edition
By Raul on December 14, 2009
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
The print edition of 'Homicide' has a 8-page set of black and white photos in the middle:

1) 6 portraits of detectives that appear in the book.
2) below them 6 pictures of the characters they inspired in the TV series.
3) and three more: 2 detectives at a crime scene, David Simon at the pub with the guys, The Board.

These pictures are gone from the Kindle edition. Whereas this is a rather minor loss, you are not missing anything essential from the reading experience, something has been subtracted from one edition nevertheless. So you've been warned.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Incredible in-depth reporting and clear and compelling prose.

Published 7 days ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

one of the best non fiction detective books I have ever read
Fantastic read!

Published 27 days ago by Corleone
5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent and original piece of work

An excellent and original piece of work, providing profound and disturbing insights into the issues of race, inequality and crime in America. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Ray Powell
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

a great read .....

Published 1 month ago by alexander castillo
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

OUTSTANDING book

Published 1 month ago by T. Green
5.0 out of 5 starsGREAT. No other word to describe it

GREAT. No other word to describe it. Buy it, read it.

Published 1 month ago by Thomas Vong
4.0 out of 5 starsForget the Wire

You can feel this book was the genesis of The Wire but stands alone as a fine piece of work. Real insights into the lives of homicide detectives. Read more

Published 1 month ago by L2theJ
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

I use this as a text book for new police officers. real cases, no punches pulled

Published 1 month ago by P Carroll
5.0 out of 5 starsMust Read for all Wire Fans!

For fans of The Wire, David Simon's groundbreaking book is a real pageturner. One year in BPD Homicide, all those things you saw in the show, are based on true stories. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Roo
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent.

Published 1 month ago by TheGingerMalingerer

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