"The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the center of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of men confronted by the darkest of American visions." "David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and his remarkable book is both a compelling account of casework and an investigation into our culture of violence. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator nearing the end of his career; Harry Edgerton, an iconoclastic black detective in a mostly white unit; and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the brutal rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl." "Originally published fifteen years ago, Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show of the same name. This new edition - which includes a foreword by Richard Price and a new afterword by David Simon - revives this essential, riveting tale about the men for whom murder is not an extraordinary act but the source of their calling."--BOOK JACKET.