The Wire

The Untold History of Television

by Kathleen Olmstead

The Untold History of Television provides a captivating glimpse behind the scenes of the groundbreaking series that have both defined and changed the pop culture landscape.

David Simon’ s The Wire, hands down, has been described by critics and fans alike as simply the best television show, ever. More than just your typical cop drama where the heroes and the villains are easy to define, The Wire took television storytelling to a whole new level when it premiered in June 2002. Audiences faced the seedy underbelly of Baltimore, Maryland and questioned what makes a city work— or what makes it fail. In this text, Kathleen Olmstead investigates the ups and downs of a show so compelling that, “ even when it was hard to watch— the violent crime, vicious attacks or characters behaving badly— it was even harder to look away.”

The ebook contains information about the inception and development of the series, thought-provoking episode analysis, and on-the-set stories about the cast and crew.

Genres: Nonfiction

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2011

About the author

Kathleen Olmstead is the author of several Classic Starts books, including Anne of Avonlea and Moby Dick, as well as Jacques Cousteau: A Life Under the Sea and Matthew Henson: The Quest for the North Pole, both in the Sterling Biographies series.

Reviews

[Kek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read on what I believe is the best series in the history of American television. More of a long-form essay than a book, but still worth the read if you're a fan. It is by no means a definitive history or anything like that thought.

[Matt Speck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically The Wire's Wikipedia page copied onto paper.