Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: An outstanding piece of journalism from Mr Simon. One of the best books ever. Mind you, I've only read about ten.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Another Baltimore boy throws in his 11 cents
Review: As a soon to be police officer, I recommend this book on it's factual nature. There is no sugar coating or white-wash here. A fabulous book that I have read numerous times and still find it engrossing. I also highly recommend The Corner, also by Simon, so one might view the other side of the fence.
Rating:
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: Beats the pants off the old TV series, even though the series was good for TV....The Book is waaay better.
Rating:
Summary: A Big Help!!
Review: Considering I would like to be a Homicide Detective...this book has helped show me what it's all about. Also watching the show helps(even though TV and reality are not the same). Great book. I recommend this to anyone interested in Law Enforcement.
Rating:
Summary: For fans of the TV show and crime buff everywhere
Review: David Simon has written a compelling novel that shows you how homicide detectives deal with the horrors they see every day. If you loved the TV show, this is must-read and tells the true story of the Baltimore PD homicide unit.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and readable
Review: Here's a book that gets into the minds of homicide detectives like no other. The author is insightful and thorough, but his writing style is a celebration of brevity. Working within the law and sometimes around it or even in spite of it, the detectives are revealed as all-too-human but praiseworthy individuals. Read this with Randy Sutton's "True Blue : Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them" and you'll have the best writing on cops and crime available today.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and readable
Review: Here's a book that gets into the minds of homicide detectives like no other. The author is insightful and thorough, but his writing style is a celebration of brevity. Working within the law and sometimes around it or even in spite of it, the detectives are revealed as all-too-human but praiseworthy individuals. Read this with Randy Sutton's "True Blue : Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them" and you'll have the best writing on cops and crime available today.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest True Crime Books Out There
Review: Homicide by David Simon is an excellent look at the life of Homicide police in America. From their gallows humor to how working homicides can change a person to the politics of a big city police force. This is a book that goes much further in-depth than any police procedural novel. It tells the truth, pure and simple. It describes the officers and their lives. From Tom Pellegrini staying away from his wife and newborn child to work a child murder, to Donald Worden's torment of Dave Brown. It really makes a person care about these detectives and the ups and downs of their careers.
Rating:
Summary: Can't get any closer than this
Review: Homicide does an amazing job of taking the reader inside the day-to-day operations of the Homicide unit in Baltimore. Reading this book, you gain an appreciation not only for the investigative work done by the detectives, but also for the troubles they encounter. Simon gives you a detailed account of the inner-workings that you cannot learn anywhere else. From the murder to the trial, Homicide shows how the real-world criminal justice system works with all of its flaws. This is a page-turning whodunit in every form, and the best part is that it is true!I am concerned to see other people claiming that this book does not deserve 5 stars because it does not live up to the characters in the T.V. show and because it has too much vulgarity. If these are the only criticisms (weak ones at that) that one can find within Homicide, then it deserves every star offered. Read Homicide and you won't be dissapointed.
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