You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss

For All the Pieces Matter, author Jonathan Abrams spoke to almost every person involved in creating The Wire, from David Simon and Ed Burns to directors, casting agents, and writers, to almost every actor you could think of. It’s fantastic. There is so much information in here, it could have been five times as long and still have been interesting. The book starts with Simon’s struggles to get it made, and this remains a theme throughout the book. I didn’t watch The Wire until it was off the air, so I didn’t know it was actually cancelled twice and saved at the last minute through Simon’s sheer doggedness. It follows a loose structure outlining the basic plot of each season, with the key players reminiscing about the events of that season.

Abrams assumes a lot of knowledge of the show from the reader, but it’s not like anyone who’s seen it is going to forget what happened to Wallace or Stringer or Omar. Abrams, also, of course, touches on every iconic moment in the show, including Senator Clay Davis’s famous catchphrase, the scene in Season 1 where Jimmy and Bunk investigate a murder scene while only saying one word, Omar in court, Snoop in the hardware store–all of them.