This new book provides intimate details of some of the most tumultuous events in the city and in the Police Department’s history. A great read with lots of familiar names.
S Street Rising is more than a memoir; it’s a portrait of a city in crisis. It’s the adrenalin-infused story of the street where author Ruben Castaneda made crack buys, and where a fledgling church led by a charismatic and streetwise pastor was protected by the local drug kingpin, a dangerous man who followed an old-school code of honor.
It’s the story of Castaneda’s friendship with William “Lou” Hennessy, an exceptional police homicide commander whose career was derailed when he ran afoul of Mayor Marion Barry and his political cronies. And it’s a study of the city itself as it tried to rise above the bloody crack epidemic and the corrosive politics of the Marion Barry era. S Street Rising is The Wire meets the Oscar-winning movie Crash. And it’s all true.
The Washington Post named S Street Rising one of the 50 notable works of nonfiction published in 2014. Brightest Young Things named it one of the best books of 2014. It is available at local bookstores and any place that sells books online.
To read reviews or order the book online, go to www.sstreetrising.com.