2 used & new from £29.58
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Wire: Truth Be Told
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

The Wire: Truth Be Told (Hardcover)

by Rafael Alvarez (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £30.00 1 used from £29.58
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover £20.00 £9.98 20 used & new from £9.03
Paperback Order it used

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Wire Re-up: The "Guardian" Guide to the Greatest TV Show Ever Made

The Wire Re-up: The "Guardian" Guide to the Greatest TV Show Ever Made

by Steve Busfield
£8.09
Grace After Midnight: A Memoir

Grace After Midnight: A Memoir

by Felicia "Snoop" Pearson
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £8.01
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-city Neighbourhood

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

by David Simon
4.9 out of 5 stars (15)  £6.52
Official "The Wire" 2010 Calendar

Official "The Wire" 2010 Calendar

£4.79
The Corner (HBO Mini Series) [DVD] [2000]

The Corner (HBO Mini Series) [DVD] [2000]

DVD ~ Khandi Alexander
4.7 out of 5 stars (11)  £14.98
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket Books; 1st Pocket Books Hardcover Ed edition (20 Sep 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0743497325
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743497329
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 127,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #74 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Television > Guides & Reviews

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

Tony Kushner

Not the usual coffee-table photo book, but something substantial, complex, honest, challenging, revealing, funny and also unprecedented, unique-a book, in other words, worthy of "The Wire."



Product Description

Created by David Simon, The Wire is told from the point of view of both the police and their targets. The first season focused primarily on the investigation of the Barkdale drug-dealing crew, while the second season examined the issues confronting the Baltimore waterfront and its unions, along with the continuation of the Barkdale storyline. The book will examine the themes and storylines of the first two seasons, as well as looking ahead to the show's direction for the third and future seasons, interspersing the stories of the real-life people upon whom the show's characters are based. The book will also have numerous photos from the show which capture the flavour of the local Baltimore locations. With an introduction by show creator David Simon, as well as contributions by bestselling and award-winning authors George Pelecanos, Laura Lippman, and Anthony Walton The Wire companion book will enhance the show's appeal for readers and fans.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Wire: Truth Be Told
82% buy the item featured on this page:
The Wire: Truth Be Told 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-city Neighbourhood
7% buy
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-city Neighbourhood 4.9 out of 5 stars (15)
£6.52
Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets
5% buy
Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets 4.7 out of 5 stars (51)
£4.64
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Old edition - covers only series 1-3. NEW EDITION OUT SOON covering all 5., 19 Sep 2008
By L. Hennessy (Twickenham) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Hello, my name is Liam, and I'm a Wire-o-holic.

I first noticed the series on Amazon in the DVD sectionThe Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5. Attracted by the great reviews and the pedigree of the writers and producer, I ordered the first installment. Two months later and I've got through all but the fifth and final series, which is on pre-order.

The reason I tell you this is to establish where my perspective is on this book; I loved the show, the dialogue, the 'plot arc' (or whatever the new word for storylines is) - it's dazzlingly good.

The first thing that you should know if you're thinking of buying this book is that it was written as they were doing the third series, so it covers less than half the output they've completed now.

When I opened this book, my immediate reaction was one of foreboding - the layout was quite large print with lots of pictures and margin lines in evidence; it's got that look of a magazine style to it (it's like Harpercollins do Dorling Kindersley) - signs of dumbing down or padding out, perhaps. This impression dissipated slightly, but nevertheless stayed with me as I read the book, as perhaps two-thirds of it is written in the form of episode synopses. These were fairly entertaining to recap on, but it felt like I was reading a media studies textbook (as I imagine one to be, anyway) at times.

But the good stuff! The remaining third of the book consists of essays by the writers of the scripts and others, and the amount that they CARE about this project shines through; there's a lot of social commentary on Baltimore, the setting for The Wire and hometown to a seeming majority of those involved in the series, and it's these testimonies that are worth getting this book for.

These's also interviews with some of the actors (another 'magazine - type' thing to do) which were uneven in quality and insight, as well as cast lists at the back, but I'm not obsessive enough about the show to care about that sort of detail.

So, because the book only covers two series and previews the third, and because there's too much synopsis and not enough personal opinion, I can only give it three stars.

I'm still glad I have it at the used price though, as it looks good on the shelf next to the DVDs of the show. Could this be the beginning of OCD?

EDIT 08/08/09: There's a new book out that covers the whole 5 series - see it here. It's bound to be a better choice if you were considering this old edition, especially at the pre-order price.
Comment Comments (3) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT, 3 Oct 2009
By bucky (london) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wire: Truth Be Told (Hardcover)
As a Wire addict I found this book awe inspiring.Really insightful essays on the main themes of the series,synopsis of all the episodes,great interviews with most people involved and some nice stills. Best book on a TV series,ever.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tapping THE WIRE, 3 Nov 2009
This review is from: The Wire: Truth Be Told (Hardcover)
I got into THE WIRE early last year and speedily devoured the first four seasons in order to watch the final one as it was broadcast on FX. Since the final season aired THE WIRE has really tipped into the mainstream, and deservedly so. It has done for television in this decade what TWIN PEAKS achieved in the nineties, which is basically out-do cinema in ambition and scope.

At its heart THE WIRE belongs to its writers. Everyone knows about the vaunted contributions to the series of Richard Price, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane et al, and the fact that it sprung out of two extraordinary works of immersion journalism written by its co-creator, David Simon: HOMCIDE and THE CORNER.

So it seems only fitting that a similarly high end, bountiful book should be released, bringing it all back down to the written word again. Every WIRE fan wants bang for their buck and this delivers in spades. It's full of thoughtful essays from numerous contributors, loads of photographs, as well as superb commentary and observations from Rafael Alvarez (who wrote for the show too).

On top of that there's a knock-out introduction by David Simon, which confirms that although much has been written about THE WIRE, this is definitively the last word.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wire: Truth Be Told. You'd never believe it
We bought this book for my son for his 21st birthday. He loves it, and he is not a guy that reads a lot.
Must be a good sign, then
Published 4 days ago by Odette Faulkner

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.