Dreamland (YA Edition): The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

4.11 AVERAGE

iambetharoo's review against another edition

3.0
This book is an interesting explanation of what the author presents as the two most important influences on the opiate epidemic - the Xalisco drug "boys" and the arrival of OxyContin onto the narcotic pain medication scene. His writing is good; just enough real people to carry you along.

However, this book is extremely repetitive. He goes over the same details over and over and over and over and over and over. Yes, the balloons. Yes, the cell phones. Yes, the cars. Yes, they were replaceable. I get it already! I must have read the same thing 20 times. So by the end I just wanted it to be over. Which is unfortunate, because except for this incredibly annoying aspect, the book was great.

e_gray_n's review against another edition

3.0
Really interesting info, really well-written, really redundant. Needed an editor to cut about 100 pages of repetition. Otherwise I loved it. Worth the read for the content.

mallorycameron's review against another edition

3.0
informative sad slow-paced
A friend recommended this book because her dad was one of the detectives interviewed in it. It was an eye opening book that takes you through the history of opiates but also to living rooms of white suburban Americans who fell victim to this epidemic.

The writing seemed a bit repetitive to me and lacked a cohesive narrative, but overall a good and important read.

n0silla's review against another edition

5.0
I burned through this book in a couple of sittings, totally engrossed--it's one of the best and most important pieces of nonfiction I've read in a long time. Quinones has lots of data and lots of gripping personal accounts, and yeah, some of it is repetitive, as other reviews have pointed out. But I think the repetition serves a purpose. This book isn't just a history of the opioid epidemic or a memo on what it looks like today (in that regard it already falls short in 2018 with the rise of fentanyl, which isn't covered in this work published in 2015). It's also a thesis about the atomization and withdrawal of individuals in American society, and how the rise of Oxy and heroin (and now fentanyl) are its apotheosis. It's also a fascinating history of paradigm shifts in the medical community and public health specialists in the 20th century, which is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the epidemic, though it might seem esoteric for people who aren't med students or doctors. Overall, this book is indispensable.

mish03's review against another edition

3.0
slow-paced

poseykp's review against another edition

4.0
I read this book right after finishing Demon Copperhead as a companion work. Somehow I missed a lot of the details of how the opioid/heroin crisis actually unfolded in the United States, covered by this book. My only complaint is that sometimes the book was hard to follow, jumping to different narratives across the country in very short chapters.

helnrose's review against another edition

5.0
Sometimes, when you’re living through history, you catch glimpses of what’s happening without the hindsight of perspective. Then, books or movies etc come along which lift up the curtain and expose everything that actually happened while you were busy in your own world, living your own life.
This is one of those books, it brought clarity and perspective that I didn’t even know I was lacking. Thank you to the author for researching & writing it.
Every American should read this book.

kikicoyle's review against another edition

3.75
dark informative medium-paced

chi's review against another edition

3.5
challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

classicnomadic90's review against another edition

5.0
This book was captivating and incredibly enlightening to a current public health issue. Journalism at its finest with this book.