{"product_id":"9781439184523","title":"The Wire: Truth Be Told","description":"Welcome to the critically acclaimed HBO drama series \u003ci\u003eThe Wire,\u003c\/i\u003e hailed as \"the best show on television, period\" by the \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e calls it \"a vital part of the television landscape...unvarnished realism.\" \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e declares that \u003ci\u003eThe Wire,\u003c\/i\u003e \"like its underfunded, workaday cops, just plugged away until it outshone everything else on TV.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e stands not only as riveting drama but also as a sociopolitical treatise with ambitions beyond any television serial. The failure of the drug war, the betrayal of the working class, the \u003cbr\u003ebureaucratization of the culture and the cost to individual dignity -- such are the themes of the drama's first two seasons. And with every new episode of season three and beyond, another layer of modern urban life will be revealed. Gritty, densely layered, and realistic, \u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e is series television at its very best, told from the point of view of the Baltimore police, their targets, and many of those caught in the middle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRafael Alvarez -- a reporter, essayist, and staff writer for the show -- brings the reader inside, detailing many of the real-life incidents \u003cbr\u003eand personalities that have inspired the show's storylines and characters, providing the reader with insights into the city of Baltimore -- itself an undeniable character in the series. Packed with photographs and featuring an introduction by series creator and executive producer David Simon, as well as essays by acclaimed authors \u003cbr\u003eGeorge Pelecanos, Laura Lippman, and Anthony Walton, here is an invaluable resource for both fans of the show and viewers who have \u003cbr\u003eyet to discover \u003ci\u003eThe Wire.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHollywood has long used the cop drama to excite and entertain, and Hollywood has always dictated the terms. But \u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e is filmed entirely in Baltimore, conceived by Baltimoreans, and written by rust-belt journalists and novelists intimately familiar with the urban landscape. It's as close as television has yet come to allowing \u003cbr\u003ean American city to tell its own tale.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47163145093360,"sku":"9781439184523","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781439184523_p0.jpg?v=1763756140","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781439184523","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}