From Publishers Weekly
Considering Law & Order's popularity, over 88 million viewers watch it and its spinoffs and reruns each week, the dearth of books about the show is fairly surprising. This literary tribute, divided neatly into three sections, is more than a fetishist's bedside companion. Wolf, the show's creator, offers a brisk introduction, setting the tone with some revealing background tidbits (e.g., Wolf and his colleagues chose a bifurcated format for the show so it could be syndicated as either a half-hour or full-hour show). "Anatomy of a Crime Scene," by far the most revealing section, takes a 2002 episode, "Oxymoron," and explains how it came together, bit by bit. Wolf gives everyone e.g., the police technical consultant, the executive producer, the actor playing a corpse (she was paid $161 for the day's work)a few crisp, concise paragraphs to explain their contributions. The "Scenes of the Crime" portion shares photos of the central crime scenes (taken by Burstein, the show's still photographer). While some of the images are too obviously composed, most are impossible to distinguish from real crime scene shots. The book's final section, "In the Criminal Justice System," which gives a loving overview of the show's major players (including Paul Sorvino, Angie Harmon and Jerry Orbach), is, while good enough, probably for serious fans only, as casual readers may not be as interested in learning, for example, why the character Detective Sergeant Phil Cerreta is a snappy dresser. Altogether, this is a simple, classy and authoritative gift book. B&w photos.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
An astonishing visual collaboration between Dick Wolf, producer of the superb, multi-award winning drama Law & Order, and series photographer Jessica Burstein, this book includes some of the most extraordinary behind the scenes images ever assembled from a primetime television show. These stark black-and-white photos are so authentic looking, the coffee-table-sized volume might well have come artfully wrapped in that instantly recognizable yellow police tape used to cordon off crime scenes. Certainly, these graphic images of bodies -- shot, slashed, garroted, and captured in unsparing, painful detail for the camera's lens -- are unsuitable for children and the faint of heart. Yet they mesmerize with a power that is curiously non-sensational. In fascinating, informative commentary, Wolf explains the origins of the long-running series and introduces the ensemble cast and crew who lend their extraordinary talents to each week's show. An intriguing inside look into the most successful police procedural in television history, this is the perfect gift book for fans of the series and aficionados of top-notch photography. Anne Markowski

FROM THE PUBLISHER

BC's Emmy award-winning hit series Law & Order is television's longest-running drama. Like the series, Law & Order: Crime Scenes walks a thin line between reality and fantasy, presenting gritty crime scene photographs. Producer Dick Wolf discusses how he came up with the idea for the crime drama and describes each of the years' main characters, accompanied by pictures. Aficionados will particularly delight in Wolf's revelations about the characters' personal lives. A postmortem commentary by photographer Jessica Burstein features thumbnails of the pictures, noting which episode each is from, with anecdotal information, and a brief synopsis of the crime scene.

SYNOPSIS

NBC's Emmy® Award-winning hit series Law & Order recently celebrated its 300th episode, earning the distinction of being television's longest-running drama. Now, for the first time, producer Dick Wolf, in collaboration with series photographer Jessica Burstein, presents a visually powerful and very intimate look at the drama. Walking the thin line between reality and fantasy, Law & Order: Crime Scenes features gripping crime scene photographs (some of which might not be suitable for younger readers) from the show's most popular episodes. This unique volume, a can't-miss item for any fan, includes:

More than 100 high-quality photographs in a stunning, rivet-bound hardcover flawlessly replicating an authentic police blotter-—an extraordinary gift for any Law & Order fanatic! Never-before-seen Law & Order crime scene photographs--so authentic that even actual NYPD officers mistook them for real Dick Wolf's personal descriptions of each of the show's main characters throughout the series, including his revelations about their little-seen personal lives "Anatomy of a Crime Scene," describing each step involved in creating those grab-you-by-the-throat sequences that open each episode Interviews with various cast and crew members explaining in detail how the show's crime scenes are developed A "Postmortem" by Jessica Burstein featuring thumbnails of the photographs, with notations on which episode each photograph is from and anecdotal information about the shoot and the actors

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly