Book excerpt: Finally, the story that no one would write has been written. The 9th Street Chronicles, by writer William Self, was five years in the making. This remarkable book 'drops salt', i.e. knowledge to the point of understanding, because it is a story about all of us, black, brown and white, male and female, rich and poor, shameless and honorable, making it and faking it. The 9th Street Chronicles draws attention to the many unspoken truths about this infamous 'block', the lives that depended on it, the politics and the cabal that controlled it, and the power that brought it down. Violence, courage, sex for sale, gambling, and murder are intertwined in this story of greed, fear, money and power, laid bare in the riveting accounts by the shakers, makers and players themselves. 9th Street Chronicles draws attention to The Block and the effects it has had on the town, its citizens, the economy, and the United States Army.We see the best and the worst of ourselves then and now. It is rare when the underbelly of a town or city is revealed in such a forthright manner.