The Corner
The Corner
David Simon
Peter Attia
One of Peter Attia's answers to "any books you feel would make your reading list?"
+
1
All books

The Corner

The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood

David Simon
By
David Simon
4.5
6522
ratings on Goodreads

In the heart of Baltimore, where West Fayette meets Monroe Street, lies a junction not just of roads but of despair and resilience. It's here, within the embrace of a neighborhood suffocated by drugs, that David Simon and Edward Burns plant us firmly on the ground. "The Corner" unveils the raw and riveting narrative of a community bound by the relentless grip of addiction, where the open-air drug market doesn't just thrive—it dictates life. Through meticulous journalism and the compassionate lens of storytelling, Simon, an acclaimed author and crime reporter, alongside Burns, a veteran of the urban drug wars, delve deep into the lives entangled in this crisis. At the epicenter is the McCollough family, whose struggles with addiction and the fight for survival amidst societal neglect paint a profoundly human face on the statistics. This is not merely an exploration of a neighborhood in distress but an indictment of the broader failures by society to address the root causes of urban decay and drug dependency. "The Corner" transcends its setting to question the efficacy of law enforcement policies, the moral crusades against drugs, and a welfare system that seems to do more harm than good. Yet, within the bleakness, glimmers of hope and humanity emerge, offering a complex look at the American drug culture and the indomitable spirit of those who call this corner of Baltimore home. Simon and Burns masterfully weave a narrative that is as compelling as it is important, forcing us to confront the uncomfortable realities of a forgotten America and the human cost of turning a blind eye.

Read more
Released
1997
1 Jan
Length
543
Pages

1

recommendations

recommendation

One of Peter Attia's answers to "any books you feel would make your reading list?"
That's the myth of it, the required lie that allows us to render our judgments. Parasites, criminals, dope fiends, dope peddlers, whores--when we can ride past them at Fayette and Monroe, car doors locked, our field of vision cautiously restricted to the road ahead, then the long journey into darkness is underway. Pale-skinned hillbillies and hard-faced yos, toothless white trash and gold-front gangsters--when we can glide on and feel only fear, we're well on the way. And if, after a time, we can glimpse the spectacle of the corner and manage nothing beyond loathing and contempt, then we've arrived at last at that naked place where a man finally sees the sense in stretching razor wire and building barracks and directing cattle cars into the compound.It's a reckoning of another kind, perhaps, and one that becomes a possibility only through the arrogance and certainty that so easily accompanies a well-planned and well-tended life. We know ourselves, we believe in ourselves; from what we value most, we grant ourselves the illusion that it's not chance in circumstance, that opportunity itself isn't the defining issue. We want the high ground; we want our own worth to be acknowledged. Morality, intelligence, values--we want those things measured and counted. We want it to be about Us.Yes, if we were down there, if we were the damned of the American cities, we would not fail. We would rise above the corner. And when we tell ourselves such things, we unthinkably assume that we would be consigned to places like Fayette Street fully equipped, with all the graces and disciplines, talents and training that we now posses. Our parents would still be our parents, our teachers still our teachers, our broker still our broker. Amid the stench of so much defeat and despair, we would kick fate in the teeth and claim our deserved victory. We would escape to live the life we were supposed to live, the life we are living now. We would be saved, and as it always is in matters of salvation, we know this as a matter of perfect, pristine faith.Why? The truth is plain:We were not born to be niggers.
— David Simon, The Corner

Similar recommendations

View all
Sapiens
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
32
people
person
Thinking, Fast and Slow
19
people
person
How to Change Your Mind
15
people
person
The Better Angels of Our Nature
13
people
person
Endurance
Endurance
Alfred Lansing
12
people
person
The Art Of War
12
people
person
Outliers
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
11
people
person
Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird
Anne Lamott
10
people
person
Finite and Infinite Games
10
people
person
Between the World and Me
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
10
people
person

This site is part of Amazon’s Associates Program. Purchasing books recommended by successful individuals through my links earns us a small commission, helping keep the site running, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!