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A devastating portrait of the American drugs war, from the creators of The Wire. ‘Mind-blowing … less a book, more a way of life’ The Times
The notorious corner of West Fayette and Monroe Streets in Baltimore is a 24-hour open-air drug market that provides the economic fuel for a dying neighbourhood. Through the eyes of one broken family – two drug-addicted adults and their smart, vulnerable fifteen-year-old son, DeAndre McCollough – Simon and Burns examine the sinister realities of inner cities across the USA and unflinchingly assess why law enforcement policies, moral crusades and the welfare system have accomplished so little.
“A staggering depiction of broken urban hearts of America … This is reportage of the highest order”
irish Times
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“If The Wire has given you Baltimore fever, read this chunky, streetwise, drug-littered piece of reportage by the hard-hitting show’s creators”
the Times
“An amazingly clear-sighted yet sympathetic portrait of the American underclass”
daily Telegraph
“As thrilling and intense as any psycho-drama … this engrossing slice of social journalism is a tour de force that manages to humanise its subjects without exploiting them”
big Issue
“A brutal critique of America’s failed war on drugs, the equality of Simon and Burns’s insights matched by a hardboiled lyricism. This is journalism as art”
sunday Herald
David Simon & Edward Burns
David Simon is an author, journalist, producer and script writer and is best known as the creator of HBO’s Peabody Award-winning series The Wire. His first book, the international bestseller Homicide, won the Edgar Award and the Anthony Award and became the basis for the NBC award-winning drama. His second book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of An Inner-City Neighbourhood, co-authored with Edward Burns, was made into an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries. Simon also co-created the HBO series Generation Kill with Ed Burns, Treme with Eric Overmyer and We Own This City with Ed Burns and George Pelecanos. He lives in Baltimore.
Edward Burns served twenty years in the city police department. For much of that time, he worked as a detective in the homicide unit. He has collaborated with David Simon on The Corner, The Wire, Generation Kill, The Plot Against America and We Own This City.
