Rating: 
Summary: This book deserves more than 5 stars
Review: In this amazing true account, David Simon follows one shift of Baltimore's homicide detectives for one year. As a passive observer, he followed them from the crime scene to the emergency rooms, to the medical examiner's office, to the victims' homes and the courtroom. He has a real eye for details and he has an incredible knack for picking up dialogue and personality of individuals. I didn't notice till almost the end of the book that he wrote the entire book in present tense. This well-thought out move made the book that much more real and intense.I had real misconceptions about this book before I read it. I thought it was all about killing and the gore of killing. As a female in my 20's, this was not a book I would have reached for on my own. Had my husband not insisted, I would not have read it and now I can't praise it enough and I would recommend it to everyone who cares about their society, everyone who wants to experience the amazing lives of people they would otherwise never know. Read it for the writing, the superb organization, the accessible language, the incredible details. David Simon is an excellent writer and journalist. This book was long, but it was never boring because David Simon experimented with it. Sometimes he wrote from the detectives' point of perspective, sometimes the victims', sometimes the criminals themselves and sometimes from his own. He really captured Baltimore in the late 80s with his keen observation and perception of what is relevant. Some of the stories he covered are crazy, if it didn't say in large print that this was all true, I would not believe it. Some of the stories are funny, some are incredibly sad, but they are all interesting and are all a part of the regular lives of the Baltimore detectives and for that matter, probably detectives in every major city in the country. I cannot praise this book enough. After reading this book, I cannot ever watch CSI or Law and Order again with the same enthusiasm. You realize how much more complex real crimes are and you just end up laughing at those TV shows. You begin to understand police work and you have a new respect for those who have devoted their lives to solving crimes. David Simon was very fair in his book, he kept it real by telling you the good and the bad. You begin to see everyone involved as real people, the police, the criminals, and the victims.
Rating:
Summary: An enlightening look at the life of Homicide Detectives.
Review: Listening to these tapes will show you what it really is like working the crime-infested streets of Baltimore, and it is a major plus to have Reed Diamond (Det. Michael Kellerman) read it. It's not all guns and glamour, you can really get an idea of what it's like rolling bodies. A great book for people who LOVE the best darn show on television; Homicide: Life on the Street.
Rating:
Summary: THE TRUTH
Review: Most magazines will tell you how good Baltimore is. For those living in Baltimore City you will often find yourself asking "If there is so much good, then why isn't it safe to walk down the street, or let the children play outside without fear." I have lived in Baltimore my whole life and have seen a lot of things. I have known friends who have surcumed to the drugs of baltimore, i have seen my neighbor lying dead in cold blood because a guy wanted his bike. The steets are mean and this book tell that. Having my dad and mom, and wanted to be one myself(county though) i have know the dangers an officer faces each day. In one such incident it tells how an officer's life can be ruined in a matter of seconds. I think this book is a must if you are thinking of law enforcement of any kind. END
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Best Police Book Ever Written
Review: Put down your police procedural murder mysteries. I don't care who wrote them because they are all fiction. If you want the REAL story, this is it. I couldn't put this book down. Every scintillating fact and detail of the killing streets of Baltimore, Maryland, as experienced by its Homicide Division in the Police Department is recounted here. The people in this book are all real and they are so well set forth that you will feel as if you live or work with them yourself. I felt as if I were the reporter on assignment with them for a year. This book was also a big award winner, as it should have been. In a curious way, by book's end, you are saying two contradictory statements to yourself. (1) How do these police people stand doing this kind of work day in and day out and (2) I can understand that the work is so fascinating that it is easy for it to utterly absorb and involve you, taking over your life. The rest of us lead incredibly dull lives compared to the homicide detectives of the BPD!
Rating:
Summary: A year in the life of Baltimore's Homicide Squad
Review: Reads like a novel! The basis for the television show "Homicide:Life on the Street", an excellent non-fiction book that readslike a novel. BALTIMORE SUN reporter David Simon rode with the Homicide cops for a year and profiled the gritty reality of solving murders in a major urban center. One of the best true crime books I've ever read!
Rating:
Summary: A year in the life of Baltimore's Homicide Squad
Review: Reads like a novel! The basis for the television show "Homicide:
Life on the Street", an excellent non-fiction book that reads
like a novel. BALTIMORE SUN reporter David Simon rode with
the Homicide cops for a year and profiled the gritty reality
of solving murders in a major urban center. One of the best
true crime books I've ever read!
Rating:
Summary: A true must read........ for just the forensics!
Review: Simon does a great job relating the job of overworked, underpaid, overstressed homicide detectives... Just the parts on the forensic science of homicide investigations are worth it. Ever wonder why they put paper (not plastic) bags on a homicide victim's hands? Or how it isn't so easy to determine which hole in the body were caused by a bullet's entry or exit? Or just how the coroner does an autopsy? Or how a small-caliber bullet can do so much damage in a body? This is the book for you..... The parts about essentially how if you are arrested for a felony in Baltimore County, you did the crime (and how you'll probably have your hand slapped) are very revealing...
Rating:
Summary: The finest non-fiction book I have ever read
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Reality beats fiction all to hell.
Review: Simon's Homicide takes the reader where few would dare to tread on a daily basis--into the bleak reality of murder and moral mayhem. Here is a panoramic view of the dark side of human nature and it delivers in ways that fiction could never aspire. There are sterling moments of insight, pathos, black comedy, and outrage in this volume written by a man who decided it was time to "stop" his investigation when his own objectivity became at risk; it's one thing to record and observe what's going on and quite another to become even marginally involved. After reading this you'll never think the same about walking down a street at night, missing people, or the workings of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a real killer!
Review: The streets of Baltimore Maryland are mean, and dangerous. In the wrong place on thosestreets you can end up dead, or worse-- in the box with a large homicidedetective staring, shouting at you to stop lying, and start telling them what really happened. The book is a chronicle of a year, 1988 in particular that David Simon; reporter for the Baltimore Sun spent with the Homicide unit of that city's police force. It is a stark and real look into how a homicide is handled, and how not to handle it. The brass demanding a suspect, and your evidence points to no one. It will make you think, and make you apprecitate that a cop's salary is way too low and the stress is way too high. It is sometimes shocking, and sometimes amusing, but overall the book is one that should not be missed. You will have a tough time putting this book down.
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