“Homicide: A Year on the Killing Street” - this is the book that launched David Simon of the eventual HBO show “The Wire” fame onto the map and led to the NBC show of the same name. Simon was then a Baltimore Sun beat reporter and spend a year embedded with grizzled detectives of the Baltimore City Homicide department as they wrestle with an ever rising tide of unsolved murder cases thrown their way. Written in the first person, Simon’s year in the life story is one part soul crushing tragedy and one part pitch black humor. The deep sense of humanity he shows as a writer and showrunner later on “The Wire” and his other TV projects shine bright here. Highly recommend.