Fantastic! I love the show even more after reading this book. Learning about the sociology-economic aspect involved in the plot for The Wire is illuminating and reminds us all that we should not take our own situations for granted.

"All in the game yo, all in the game."
Omar Little, The Wire, HBO 2002-2008

Bar none, "The Wire" is the finest television series ever: in its realistic portrayal of drug-related crimes from various angles, law enforcement and news media coverage, as well as the greed and apathy in local politics and in its excellent exploration of societal problems surrounding these. This book demonstrates how this 5-year series from HBO was the groundbreaker for the explosion of superb TV drama series in the past ten years.

The Wire has served as the base point for sociology and screenwriting courses at universities from Harvard to Duke and Middlebury, from Syracuse to Washington State. Little wonder, the series came at society's ills from the POVs of law enforcement, drug dealers, drug addicts, street kids, politicians, the newspaper media, longshoremen and their union on the brink of extinction, and, to a lesser degree, the criminal justice system.

This 2018 book is a fine-tuned and definitive oral history which provides an in-depth look into the making, the actors and directors, the story lines, and the fact that The Wire wasn't appreciated in full until a few years after its 5th and final year, 2008.

I was most fascinated by the screenwriting process and the varied impacts that writing, great and true, can make on conversation, art and society.

Reading this whetted my appetite for another viewing, nearly blinding in its brilliance.

I really liked the content from the writers' room and some of the actors' comments were interesting. I guess I am not a fan of the oral history format, even when the subject is my favorite TV series.

I used this book as a companion piece to a first time binge watch of the series. The behind the scenes stories and character info made the experience both interesting and seemingly more in depth. I would recommend this title to anyone interested in the Wire, and actually as an intro to the creation and production of any filmed series. The boo is written conversationally and chronologically, so I found it an easy reference to go to anytime. Jonathan Abrams provided the xtra insight and insider info I was looking for, no disappointment on my side.

Truly excellent oral history with nearly all the (living) players and creators of the show. The stories are current, meaning that they have both the blessing of hindsight and the limitations of memory, but these are largely raw stories, with little gilding or glossing to make one look better, something that happens all too often with time.

Other reviews have been clear that this is for the die-hards,and NOT for novices. You have to have watched the show first, or you're missing out on of of the great storytelling experiences television has ever broadcast. I've been waiting for something like this since the show's end, giving you the actors'/writers'/directors' personal feelings about the show, its characters, and story choices (and it isn't all love and adoration).

I'm one of those people who rewatch the series probably once a year, so this book felt like revisiting with old friends. Add this to the list of great oral histories alongside the SNL and the Daily Show books. Excellent read.

(unbiased review in exchange for free advance copy from net galley)

I could not wait to watch The Wire on HBO. What an exciting series this was. So real, gritty and brutally honest. What a pleasure it was to read from the wonderful actors of this series, giving us much insight to add to the this ground-breaking show. Any fan of this show has to read this book. OUTSTANDING!!!!! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This is a wonderful oral history on creating the iconic TV show The Wire. Author Jonathan Abrams uses great interviews, great structure, and great content to add up to a book that shines a glowing light on The Wire. It's a joy to read, and it's certain to make readers want to watch the show for the first time or again.

The Wire has aged remarkably well. Almost 10 years after airing its final episode, the show's themes and subject matter are just as relevant as ever, if not more so. It has also played a huge role in ushering in the era of "peak television" and slow-burning narrative dramas like Breaking Bad and House of Cards. While there are plenty of encyclopedic volumes analyzing episodes and story arcs and critically assessing the show through various academic lenses, there are no comprehensive accounts chronicling The Wire's history and production. Jonathan Abrams' All The Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire adeptly fills this gap, providing an illuminating and insightful oral history of the groundbreaking series. With participation from co-creators David Simon and Ed Burns, studio executives, production staff, and essentially every major actor involved with the show, Abrams is able to cobble together a captivating history of the show that should delight all of its fans.

The book traces the history of the show from creator David Simon's experiences as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun through its five seasons and its enduring legacy. Proceeding largely chronologically, Abrams explores the show's influences, its major themes, turbulent relationship with HBO, and more, largely through the eyes of those directly involved with it. One recurring subject in All the Pieces Matter is the show's obsession with realism and the painstaking lengths it took to cultivate it. From the first day of shooting, actors and production staff were taking steps to present an accurate depiction of the streets of Baltimore. Actors such as Felicia Pearson (Snoop) were able to bring their personal experiences into the show and help foster its authenticity, and this verisimilitude actually compelled a real-life criminal in Baltimore to surrender himself to Wire actors portraying local cops, believing he had come into contact with the real deal.

Although this is a departure in both format and subject matter from Abrams' last book (the excellent Boys Among Men about the preps-to-pros era in the NBA), he wrote several definitive oral histories on Grantland about basketball (my personal favorite is his history of the 2005 Pacers-Pistons "Malice at the Palace" brawl). Abrams clearly admires The Wire and writes knowledgeably on the subject, to the extent that I was surprised to realize he basically exclusively focused on basketball during his time at Grantland. Abrams begins each chapter with some exposition but then lets his prose take a backseat, letting the players tell their stories. Additionally, Abrams is able to get his interviewees to open up to him, admitting mistakes and offering candid opinions that greatly enrich the reading experience, and he logically organized his book by keeping things reasonably chronological but diving deeply into particular broader areas when applicable.

Staying consistent with its title, Abrams is able to hunt down virtually every major player involved with the show and the reader discovers the pivotal roles that supporting actors such as Andre Royo (Bubbles) and assistant directors had in the show's success. The only actor with a substantial role missing was Robert Chew (Prop Joe), who tragically died from a heart attack in 2013, and many of his castmates recounted stories about his valuable role as a mentor to younger actors such as the four young teenagers who were central to Season 4. Like many other fans who started watching The Wire after the show's conclusion (invariably after finally caving in after repeated fervid recommendations from friends) and it was strange to see how frequently the show flirted with cancellation. Not just after its languidly-developing first season or the dramatic departure from Season 1 to Season 2, but for virtually each of its 5 seasons (the city of Baltimore compounded matters by threatening to pull the show's shooting permits right before Season 2). Abrams is able to talk with several HBO executives about such matters and get their takes, but their explanations don't make this fact any less mind-boggling.

I have always enjoyed oral histories for their quick pace and colorful insider stories, but I also readily acknowledge their flaws. The two biggest problems with most oral histories is their disjointedness and limited participation. I Want My MTV was a fun read but plagued with random non-sequiturs and James A Miller's mammoth tomes on Saturday Night Live, ESPN, and Creative Artists Agency were generally entertaining but hindered by some key players such as Eddie Murphy sitting out. Thankfully, Abrams is able to avoid both pitfalls through herculean wrangling efforts and adopting a sound structure and format. Sometimes I wish Abrams would chime in a bit more and provide extra background in certain sections, but overall the book flows well, especially given its format. Talking with so many different players allows for multiple perspectives and opinions, and thankfully everyone seems to largely agree on most matters and stories and Abrams is not forced to mediate between multiple conflicting viewpoints. Simon and Burns and the actors (rightfully) are the biggest contributors to the book, but I also liked hearing from writers such as George Pelecanos and Richard Price about their roles in shaping the show.

The book is packed with anecdotes and trivia (John C. Reilly was one of the early actors considered for McNulty and actors were often prevented from interacting with their real-life inspirations). Yes, some of the trivia such as Omar being originally intended as a bit player are likely familiar to fans, but the insights from David Simon about his thought process about whether a gay character would fit in his gritty, inner-city world and how actor Michael K. Williams interpreted his role add extra color and new revelations to such stories. There was a period in college where I became obsessed with the show and devoured virtually every piece of content related to the series, which like most pop culture minutia has remained moored in long-term memory and crowded out bank passwords and other far more important information, and the book was still quite revealing.

All the Pieces Matter is designed with fans in mind, chock-full of spoilers and references that will fly over the head of the uninitiated, and it is a treat for those who have watched and enjoyed the series (even if they didn't care much for Season 5, like this particular reviewer). The Wire was one of the greatest television shows ever and All The Pieces Matter is the definitive history it deserves. Not only is it an excellent book, it also inspired me to restart the show on HBO Go with an even greater sense of appreciation for its craft and attention to detail. Perhaps this is a bit pessimistic given we're still in December 2017, but I would not be surprised (or bummed out) if All The Pieces Matter ends up being my favorite book published in 2018.

9 / 10

All the Pieces Matter is an amazing oral history of The Wire. Jonathan Abrams interviewed most of the key players (David Simon and Ed Burns, the creators of the show; many of the main writers; the key actors, including Idris Elba, Dominic West, Michael K. Williams, and the list goes on) and does a very nice job of weaving their interviews together.

Although the book doesn't cover all of the episodes, it does move chronologically through the seasons and touches upon some of the key happenings behind the scenes and on the show. There are a lot of fun tidbits about the actors and writers, as well as interesting social commentary. This book will surely appeal to all fans of The Wire, but I think that it would also be interesting for those who are writers and those who are interested in a peek behind the scenes on a major show.

Who did the character research? Is there a real Omar? How did Idris Elba feel to have Stringer Bell killed off the show? Was Snoop a killer in real life? Was it awkward on set to have kids around not even old enough to vote? Which universities use the show to teach film theory or criminal justice? Was THE WIRE the golden or bastard child of HBO?

As a huge fan of THE WIRE, I claim to know almost everything there is to know about the series, the set, the background and the real-life inspirations behind characters and season plots. I can talk about it in depth and answer most of the questions above. But after reading All the Pieces Matter, I realized I barely knew the real scoop. I learned so much more! There has been a great deal of analysis and critique of THE WIRE since its final episode aired in 2008. But nothing like All the Pieces Matter that gives a behind-the-scenes take on everything from how it was created to its powerful end.

At almost 300 pages of strictly dialogue, this is not the type of book you can curl up with and read in a couple sittings. After all, it is non-fiction. But thanks to the author for formatting it as an oral history rather than long ass paragraphs. Instead it is like overhearing a conversation among friends simply reminiscing.

I suggest reading it at a slower pace to digest what the cast, directors, writers and crew are saying about their experience working on THE WIRE. Most importantly, All the Pieces Matter dives into what other books about THE WIRE barely touch on—the show's main character: City of Baltimore. One thing is for sure: fans will appreciate this inside story and understand more of the best television series to ever air. This is the uncut truth...16 years after its first episode aired.

Happy Early Pub Day, Jonathan Abrams! All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of THE WIRE will be available Tuesday, February 18, 2018. Hard to believe it has been almost 16 years since the first episode premiered on 06.02.2002 Let this book take you down memory lane!

LiteraryMarie

Fascinating oral history of the great HBO series "The Wire" collected from key figures in its creation and production. The intersection of the crime they depicted and the real crime in Baltimore they sometimes encountered during filmin was amusingly ironic.

If you say you like The Wire, that means you like reading books. That means you give a [bad word] about the human race.

– Andre Royo (“Bubbles”)

A completely enjoyable book by a fan for fans of this hit TV drama. If you haven't series, watch it and love it. If you saw the series and didn't love it, you are dead to me.

The book is formatted mostly as interviews with the cast and crew of the show, with some connecting narrative. I was expecting that there would be some actors, especially those who are big stars now (esp. Idris Elba and Dominic West), who wouldn't give the author the time of day, but he seemed to be able to rope pretty much everybody connected with the show into participating. Everybody connected with the program seems to have a justifiably great sense of pride in their association with this exceptional series, and the recollections – even of the difficult moments – are almost uniformly positive.

As mentioned in another review, the book contains a lot of interesting and amusing Wire trivia about prosthetic body parts, discarded couches, and the difficulties that British actors have maintaining their American accents. There's also a lot of more serious stuff about the great efforts the show's creators and staff had to go through to get the show renewed year after year, and about the show's strange afterlife, when it became more popular than during its original appearance, and acquired prestige as President Obama's favorite television program and as the subject of university study.

Random trivia: At Kindle location 3393, actor Robert Wisdom says he had the idea to get the entire African-American cast together for a party and a photo. Wisdom says:

I was inspired by the Harlem musicians photo back in the day. There was a photo where all the jazz musicians of the day came together in Harlem.

The photo Wisdom is referring to is the subject of a great 1994 documentary “A Great Day in Harlem”, and you can view the photo by following the link in this sentence.

Watch the scene from which this book derives its title here.

I received a free electronic galley copy of this book for review. Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Archetype for their generosity.

From the genesis of the idea to the afterlife in university classes, Treme and American thinking about social policy, Abrams carefully assembles an oral history of The Wire, drawing from interviews with the cast and crew. This approach yields such gems as the struggle to properly light Ziggy's prosthetic penis for the cameras, the politics of costuming rival corner boys, that the iconic orange couch used in the pilot episode was (rightfully) thrown away by the Baltimore Housing Authority and carefully reproduced at huge cost, that Idris Elba and Dominic West had to be kept apart while doing their American accents, or their British ones would start to come out, and that they regularly filmed in places where the FBI would show up to arrest the owner for money laundering or that were empty because they'd days earlier been a raided drug house.