false 18957 5 This is a powerful book, a window on aspects of America most people would rather ignore. To their great credit, the authors--David Simon wrote <i>Homicide</I>, the basis for the popular television show; Edward Burns is a former Baltimore police officer, now a public school teacher--refuse to sensationalize their subject or make its people into stereotypes. For a year the two hung out in a West Baltimore neighborhood that was a center of the drug trade. At the center of the narrative is the McCullough family--DeAndre, age 15, and his drug-addicted parents, Gary and Fran. While reading <i>The Corner</i>, there are times when we pity them, times when they make us angry. The book's strength, though, is that we always understand them. 20297 1997 The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood total:704|5:360|4:257|3:74|2:12|1:1| 704 3075 1231 147 5 5 false false Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Thu Mar 13 12:52:19 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 12:55:03 -0700 2008
The premise is simple--Baltimore Sun reporter Simon (who's lately been earning acclaim as the driving force behind HBO's "The Wire" which takes place in the same area)and Ed Burns spent a year living on or around one of th...more...]]> 3 2 false false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 01 07:41:30 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 06:23:02 -0700 2008 A bizarre redemption tale.
The Corner is written in documentary form, with apparently 75-80% of the content being observed events ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 09 08:33:17 -0800 2007 Tue Feb 05 11:36:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 20:59:45 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 21:22:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 21:20:15 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 21:21:38 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Feb 25 02:22:46 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 20 03:16:49 -0700 2009
What I can say is that more than once I found myself on the subway readin...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 30 17:03:56 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 06 22:47:57 -0800 2009
Throwing the vast, and vastly damaging and futile hypocrisy of the so-called war on drugs into ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 15:29:12 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 15:38:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 21:14:28 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 21:26:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 13:39:27 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 08:53:09 -0700 2009
This is the densest thing I've read in awhile (I was on that YA kick for longer than I intended), and while it was a little show to get back into the rhythm of reading non-fiction, it's been totally worth it. I'm down to the last 100 pages, and...more...]]> 5 0 false true Tue Jan 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Sep 26 20:38:21 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 13 13:24:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Sep 16 02:52:51 -0700 2008 Sat Dec 27 06:46:20 -0800 2008
It is difficult to read that all the ideas and arg...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 30 08:14:13 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 29 09:20:35 -0700 2009
Simon, famous for his work on Homicide, The Wire, and Generation Kill, started his professional career as a journalist. In the early nineties the Baltimore Sun switched hands from local ownership to ownership by a multi-national media cong...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 05 10:42:16 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 02 10:39:00 -0700 2009
Only a fantastic book could raise the ire of both liberals and conservatives. Simon and Burns critique and analyze many of the political, social and economic factors that contributed to the rampant drug problem at the core of every c...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 11 06:29:35 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 02 17:48:51 -0800 2008 The Wire--authored by the same writers as The Corner, Ed Burns and David Simon. I originally picked up this book years ago as a Teach for America corps member since it was on a recommended reading list. It felt dismal and I ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 14:21:48 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 19:40:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 17:42:02 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 20:12:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 27 09:29:56 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 01 15:34:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Nov 12 18:42:34 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 18:51:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 17 08:49:50 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 07 09:19:49 -0700 2008 more...]]>