The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighbourhood

Description

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.

David Simon is an author, journalist, producer and script writer and is bestknown as the creator of HBO's Peabody Award-winning series The Wire. Hisfirst book, the international bestseller Homicide, won the Edgar Award and theAnthony Award and became the basis for the NBC award-winning drama. Hissecond book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of An Inner-City Neighbourhood,co-authored with Edward Burns, was made into an Emmy-winning HBOminiseries. Simon also co-created the HBO series Generation Kill with EdBurns, Treme with Eric Overmyer and We Own This City with Ed Burns andGeorge Pelecanos. He lives in Baltimore. Edward Burns served twenty years in the city police department. For muchof that time, he worked as a detective in the homicide unit. He hascollaborated with David Simon on The Corner, The Wire, Generation Kill, ThePlot Against America and We Own This City.

'A staggering depiction of broken urban hearts of America . . .This is reportage of the highest order' - Irish Times 'If The Wire has given you Baltimore fever, read this chunky,streetwise, drug-littered piece of reportage by the hard-hittingshow's creators' - The Times 'An amazingly clear-sighted yet sympathetic portrait of theAmerican underclass' - Daily Telegraph 'As thrilling and intense as any psycho-drama . . . this engrossingslice of social journalism is a tour de force that manages tohumanise its subjects without exploiting them' - Big Issue