Journalist, author, producer, and television series writer David Simon is probably best known as the creator of HBO’s cult-classic series, The Wire. After working as a journalist with the Baltimore Sun, Simon spent a year shadowing detectives of the Baltimore Police Department’s Homicide Squad throughout their investigations – notably, at the time, Baltimore was the homicide capital of the United States. The resultant book, Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets (you can find out more about this journalistic masterpiece below), was praised for its gritty depiction of Baltimore’s underworld and the lives of the detectives entrusted with the responsibility of curbing the city’s skyrocketing homicide rate. The book went on to win the Edgar Award and served as inspiration for The Wire. Later this year, HBO is scheduled to release the series, The Deuce, created by Simon and starring James Franco. The series will examine the pornography industry in New York in the 1970s. A list of Simon’s favorite books are detailed below. Feel free to click on the images for more information.
The Bluest Eye (Vintage International)
Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)
Right As Rain: A Derek Strange Novel (Derek Strange Novels)
We examined the favorite books of author George Pelecanos in a subsequent post: George Pelecanos – Favorite Books
Ball Four: Twentieth Anniversary Edition
A Drink Before the War: A Novel (Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro Series)
We examined the favorite books of author Dennis Lehane in a prior post: Dennis Lehane’s Favorite Books
We examined the favorite books of author Richard Price in a subsequent post: Richard Price – Favorite Books
For more on David Simon, read the following (especially if you are a fan of The Wire):
