The Wire and America's Dark Corners: Critical Essays

In post-9/11 America, while all eyes were on Iraq and Afghanistan, The Wire (2002-2008) focused on the dark realities of those living in America's disintegrating industrial heartlands and drug-ravaged neighborhoods, striving against the odds in its schools, hospitals and legal system.

With compelling story lines and a memorable cast of characters, The Wire has been compared to the work of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, with a level of detail rarely seen in a dramatic series. While the show garner...