Street Gang Street Gang : The Complete History of Sesame Street is a narrative non - fiction book written by former TV Guide editor Michael Davis . The 384 - page hardcover book focuses on the development and rise of " Sesame Street " as an influential children ' s show and pop culture staple . In April 2016 , it was announced that " Street Gang " would be developed as a documentary . The project was first announced in passing in trade journals in March 2006 ; one such article claimed that " a dozen of New York ’ s top publishers [ were ] eager to get their hands this week on the story of how " Sesame Street " emerged as the iconic program that shaped the minds of countless kiddies around the globe . " The book was released by Viking Press in December 2008 . Author Michael Davis has confirmed that the book is the result of completing more than 200 interviews over the course of five years . The book ' s back cover features an endorsement by puppeteer Frank Oz , who says : Interviewees . Marty Arnold , Nick Aronson , Martin Baker , Lou Berger , Dr . Lewis Bernstein , Frank Biondo , Linda Bove , Molly Boylan , Fran Brill , Bernie Brillstein , David V . B . Britt , Alice Cahn , Dave Campbell , Christopher Cerf , Peggy Charren , Dr . Milton Chen , George Clash , Gladys Clash , Kevin Clash , Bob Colleary , Jill Colley , Judy Collins , Pat Collins , Alan Connell , Jan Connell , Joan Ganz Cooney , Mike Dann , Jim Day , Emilio Delgado , Cynthia P . Deutsch , Danny Epstein , Jason Epstein , Bonnie Erickson , Susan Erion , Annie Evans , Karen Falk , Judy Freudberg , Amy Friedman , Julian Ganz , Brian Garfield , Tony Geiss , Arthur Gelb , Dave Goelz , Linda Gottlieb , Louis L . Gould , Pam Green , Karen Gruenberg , Robert Hatch , Richard D . Heffner , Brian Henson , Cheryl Henson , Jane Henson , Don Hewitt , Jane Hunt , Kate Hunt , Al Hyslop , Eric Jacobson , Jim Jinkins , Brown Johnson , James Earl Jones , Jerry Juhl , Chloe Kimball , Emily Kingsley , Gary Knell , David Lazer , Sharon Lerner , Gerry Lesser , Loretta Long , Joan Lufrano , Sonia Manzano , Ted May , Joey Mazzarino , Mac McGarry , Bob McGrath , Alan Menken , Lloyd Morrisett , Mary Morrisett , Annie Moss , Jerry Nelson , Arthur Novell , Rosie O ' Donnell , Roscoe Orman , Sarah Morrisett Otley , Frank Oz , Pete Peterson , Nick Raposo , Alaina Reed , Martin P . Robinson , Charles Rosen , David Rudman , Diane Sawyer , Josh Selig , Craig Shemin , Arlene Sherman , Cathy Short , Fred Silverman , Lisa Simon , Dulcy Singer , Liz Smith , Caroll Spinney , Norman Stiles , Beverly Stone , Jon Stone , Polly Stone , Stuart Sucherman , John Tartaglia , David Tatum , James Taylor , Rosemarie Truglio , Tom Whedon , Steve Whitmire , Caroly Wilcox , Mo Willems , Vanessa Williams , Norton Wright , and Janet Wolf . Audio book . Viking Press originally published the book on December 26 , 2008 , while Listen & Live Audio released an audio version of the book narrated by Caroll Spinney on the same day . The nine - hour reading was released as a 7 - disc CD set and as a digital download . The reading was originally advertised to have been unabridged , however the final product has been slightly abridged . Recording for the project occurred in early November 2008 at a studio in Manhattan . The audiobook also features an exclusive hour - long interview of Caroll Spinney by author Michael Davis on the final disc in the set . The interview was also made available as a standalone audio download from Listen & Live ' s online store A library edition of the audiobook was released in September 2009 , containing the unabridged version read by Spinney . It is published by Playaway / Findaway World Llc ( ISBN13 : 9781615748099 , ISBN : 1615748091 ) . Second edition . A second edition of the book was released in paperback on October 27 , 2009 . The second edition apparently corrects errors present in the first edition ( Davis hired an independent fact checker ) . The second edition was to have featured an additional chapter covering the casting of Roscoe Orman as the show ' s third Gordon , among other topics . An excerpt of the chapter can be read on the official " Street Gang " website , StreetGangBook . com , but this chapter does not appear in the final product . Errata . The following errors persisted in the paperback second edition of the book :