All the Pieces Matter


Book Description

"An oral history of HBO"s The Wire"--




The Wire


Book Description

'. . . All in the game.' West Baltimore Traditional THE WIRE has been widely hailed as the greatest television series of all time. It portrays the war of attrition between Baltimore's hardened police force and its drug dealers, and the blurring of good and evil, justice and injustice, right and wrong that happens every day as men and women struggle against the institutions they are bound up in. Over its five series it has built up a detailed, rich and layered portrait of Baltimore: from its corner boys touting dope and its dock workers facing extinction, through the strained education system and tainted halls of power, to the crumbling media establishment. Rafael Alvarez - a reporter, essayist and staff writer for the show - brings the reader inside this world, detailing many of the real-life incidents and personalities that have inspired the show's storylines and characters. Packed with photographs and featuring an introduction by series creator and executive producer David Simon, as well as essays by acclaimed authors George Pelecanos, Ed Burns, Richard Price, Laura Lippman and Denis Lehane, it covers all fives series in glorious detail.




Tapping into The Wire


Book Description

Did Omar Little die of lead poisoning? Would a decriminalization strategy like the one in Hamsterdam end the War on Drugs? What will it take to save neglected kids like Wallace and Dukie? Tapping into 'The Wire' uses the acclaimed television series as a road map for exploring connections between inner-city poverty and drug-related violence. Past Baltimore City health commissioner Peter Beilenson teams up with former Baltimore Sun reporter Patrick A. McGuire to deliver a compelling, highly readable examination of urban policy and public health issues affecting cities across the nation. Each chapter recounts scenes from episodes of the HBO series, placing the characters' challenges into the broader context of public policy. A candid interview with the show’s co-creator David Simon reveals that one of the intentions of the series is to expose gross failures of public institutions, including criminal justice, education, labor, the news media, and city government. Even if readers haven’t seen the series, the book’s detailed summaries of scenes and characters brings them up to speed and engages them in both the story and the issues. With a firm grasp on the hard truths of real-world problems, Tapping into 'The Wire' helps undo misconceptions and encourage a dialogue of understanding. -- John A. Rich, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men




The Note Through the Wire


Book Description

Praised as an “unforgettable love story” by Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this is the real-life, unlikely romance between a resistance fighter and prisoner of war set in World War II Europe. In this true love story that defies all odds, Josefine Lobnik, a Yugoslav partisan heroine, and Bruce Murray, a New Zealand soldier, discover love in the midst of a brutal war. In the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe, two people meet fleetingly in a chance encounter. One an underground resistance fighter, a bold young woman determined to vanquish the enemy occupiers; the other a prisoner of war, a man longing to escape the confines of the camp so he can battle again. A crumpled note passes between these two strangers, slipped through the wire of the compound, and sets them on a course that will change their lives forever. Woven through their tales of great bravery, daring escapes, betrayal, torture, and retaliation is their remarkable love story that survived against all odds. This is an extraordinary account of two ordinary people who found love during the unimaginable hardships of Hitler’s barbaric regime as told by their son-in-law Doug Gold, who decided to tell their story from the moment he heard about their remarkable tale of bravery, resilience, and resistance.




Beyond the Wire


Book Description

From the bestselling author of Irena’s War comes a gripping novel of historical fiction based on one of the most extraordinary true stories of World War II—an uprising behind the walls of Auschwitz concentration camp. October 1944: In the long, narrow undressing rooms in Auschwitz-Birkenau, prisoner Jakub Bak toils under the scrutiny of SS guards. Like other members of the Sonderkommando, Jakub was selected on arrival for an unthinkable job: sorting through the clothes of the dead and moving their bodies from the gas chambers to the crematoriums. In this hell within a hell, Jakub clings to the promise he made to his murdered father—to live, at any cost—and to the moments he is able to spend in the company of Anna, imprisoned in the women’s camp. Every morning, Anna marches miles to the union munitions factory where she works alongside other prisoners. Even Jakub doesn’t know that she and a few other women have been taking the ultimate risk, smuggling trace amounts of gunpowder back in their clothing. A bold plan is brewing to revolt against the SS and liberate the camp. Jakub, pressured to join the resistance, knows that any uprising faces impossible odds. Added to this already stark choice is another desperate reality—the risk from informers who see their only chance of survival in betraying their fellow Jews. Powerfully moving and unflinching in its authenticity, Beyond the Wire tells of the women and men who, though outnumbered and outgunned, fought to free themselves, sparking a brilliant flash of light and hope amidst the darkest evil that humans can conceive. Praise for Irena’s War “Shipman’s humbling, spellbinding tale is a standout among recent works of Holocaust fiction.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)




The Wire and Philosophy


Book Description

By many accounts, HBO's The Wire was and remains the greatest and most important television drama of all time. Conceived by writers David Simon and ex-Baltimore homicide detective Ed Burns, this five-season, sixty-episode tour de force has raised the bar for compelling, intelligent television production. With each season addressing a different arena of life in the city of Baltimore, and each season's narratives tapping into those from previous seasons, The Wire was able to reveal the overlapping, criss-crossing, and colliding realities that shape--if not control--the people, institutions, and culture of the modern American city. The Wire and Philosophy celebrates this show's realism as well as its intellectual and philosophical clarity. Selected philosophers who are fans of The Wire tap into these conflicts and interconnections to expose the underlying philosophical issues and assumptions and pursue questions, such as, can cops really tell whether they are smarter than their perps? Or do they fall victim to intellectual vanity? Do individuals really have free will to resist the temptations--of gangs, of drugs, or corruption--that surround them? Is David Simon a modern-day Marx who sees capitalism leading ultimately to its own collapse, or is Baltimore's story uniquely its own?




Silence on the Wire


Book Description

"This book will be riveting reading for security professionals and students, as well as technophiles interested in learning about how computer security fits into the big picture and high-level hackers seeking to broaden their understanding of their craft."--BOOK JACKET.




Outside the Wire


Book Description

A riveting collection of thirty-eight narratives by American soldiers serving in Afghanistan, Outside the Wire offers a powerful evocation of everyday life in a war zone. Christine Dumaine Leche--a writing instructor who left her home and family to teach at Bagram Air Base and a forward operating base near the volatile Afghan-Pakistani border--encouraged these deeply personal reflections, which demonstrate the power of writing to battle the most traumatic of experiences. The soldiers whose words fill this book often met for class with Leche under extreme circumstances and in challenging conditions, some having just returned from dangerous combat missions, others having spent the day in firefights, endured hours in the bitter cold of an open guard tower, or suffered a difficult phone conversation with a spouse back home. Some choose to record momentous events from childhood or civilian life--events that motivated them to join the military or that haunt them as adults. Others capture the immediacy of the battlefield and the emotional and psychological explosions that followed. These soldiers write through the senses and from the soul, grappling with the impact of moral complexity, fear, homesickness, boredom, and despair. We each, writes Leche, require witnesses to the narratives of our lives. Outside the Wire creates that opportunity for us as readers to bear witness to the men and women who carry the weight of war for us all.




Cracking The Wire During Black Lives Matter


Book Description

Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, Wendell Pierce, Michael K. Williams -- first known as Stringer Bell, Wallace, Bunk, and Omar -- are just a few of the fruits of The Wire we enjoy today. Since its June 2, 2002, premiere, The Wire has been a slow burn, picking up steam each and every year since. As critics continue to grapple with the show and its enduring impact, some voices and perspectives have still yet to be heard. Cracking The Wire During Black Lives Matter remedies this oversight. This provocative exploration of HBO's iconic show touches on issues of not just race, but also class, power, gender dynamics, police brutality, addiction, sexuality, and even representations of Baltimore itself through a Black Lives Matter lens for some, but Black reality for so many others. Regardless of perspective, Cracking The Wire During Black Lives Matter is an engaging and compelling conversation about one of the most important shows in television history. Cracking the Wire features a cover by esteemed artist Art Sims, who designed the posters for numerous Spike Lee films, including Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, Clockers, and When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, as well as The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, and Black Panther.




Outside the Wire


Book Description

A smart and revealing political memoir from a rising star of the Democratic Party. "In life and in politics, the most important work is often that which happens outside the wire." Going "outside the wire" -- military lingo for leaving the safety of a base -- has taught Jason Kander to take risks and make change rather than settling for the easy option. After you've volunteered to put your life on the line with and for your fellow Americans in Afghanistan, cynical politics and empty posturing back home just feel like an insult. Kander understands that showing political courage really just means doing the right thing no matter what. He won a seat in the Missouri Legislature at age twenty-seven and then, at thirty-one, became the first millennial in the country elected to statewide office. An unapologetic progressive from the heartland, he rejected conventional political wisdom and stood up to the NRA in 2016 with a now-famous Senate campaign ad in which he argued for gun reform while assembling a rifle blindfolded. That fearless commitment to service has placed him at the forefront of a new generation of American political leaders. In his final interview as President, Barack Obama pointed to Kander as the future of the Democratic Party. "...do something rather than be something..." In Outside the Wire, Jason Kander describes his journey from Midwestern suburban kid to soldier to politician and details what he's learned along the way: lessons imparted by his dad on the baseball diamond, wisdom gained outside the wire in Kabul, and cautionary tales witnessed under the Missouri Capitol dome. Kander faced down petty tyrants in Jefferson City -- no big deal after encountering real ones in Afghanistan. He put in 90,000 miles campaigning for statewide office in 2012 -- no sweat compared to the thirty-seven miles between Bagram Air Base and Camp Eggers. When confronted with a choice between what's easy and what's right, he's never hesitated. Outside the Wire is a candid, practical guide for anyone thinking about public service and everyone wishing to make a difference. It's a call to action, an entertaining meditation on the demands and rewards of civic engagement, and, ultimately, a hopeful vision for America's future -- all seen through the eyes of one of its most dedicated servants.