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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Caught between 3/4 stars. It was a good follow up to demon copperhead while I waited for empire of pain, but not my favorite out there. super super repetitive. A lot of the info wasn’t much deeper than what you’d find in a documentary and the commentary didn’t go much further than capitalism = bad. Also the structure of narrative felt a bit haphazard at times. There was clearly a lot of effort and research that went into the project which I really appreciated but idk if I’d recommend this to anyone who was just a casual reader as it’s kinda hard to stay engaged and I think there’s better out there on the opioid crisis
informative
medium-paced
I seriously recommend reading this alongside "Empire of Pain"; that's the other side of this coin and the two books have complimentary overlap.
That said, this was an excellent and thorough insight to the opium epideimic. Though I wish for more details into the corporate side, that's not what this book is about, and I already had Empire of Pain on the brain - hence my desire to see that info here. Without that, this book still satisfies. I was too young to understand the epidemic so I'm glad for this book.
Minor cons:
- The audiobook narrator was a bit flat and didn't emote much, or draw interest. Not the fault of the author, of course, this is subjective.
- A little too much repetition in some chapters, down to the same phrases or ideas.
- The timeline/chapter order seemed random at times. A lot of "oh, I guess we're discussing this now?" From me
- The weird "kids these days are too sensitive" at the end was a bit out of nowhere, hah. And quoting someone complaining about 'trigger warnings' ... very silly, feels dated. The rest of that section was good points though (the lack of community and empathy, Americans preoccupied with themselves and consumerism, etc)
That said, this was an excellent and thorough insight to the opium epideimic. Though I wish for more details into the corporate side, that's not what this book is about, and I already had Empire of Pain on the brain - hence my desire to see that info here. Without that, this book still satisfies. I was too young to understand the epidemic so I'm glad for this book.
Minor cons:
- The audiobook narrator was a bit flat and didn't emote much, or draw interest. Not the fault of the author, of course, this is subjective.
- A little too much repetition in some chapters, down to the same phrases or ideas.
- The timeline/chapter order seemed random at times. A lot of "oh, I guess we're discussing this now?" From me
- The weird "kids these days are too sensitive" at the end was a bit out of nowhere, hah. And quoting someone complaining about 'trigger warnings' ... very silly, feels dated. The rest of that section was good points though (the lack of community and empathy, Americans preoccupied with themselves and consumerism, etc)
Harrowing and incredibly fascinating. Reading Dreamland felt like re-learning my childhood and how I understood the causes and impact of substance abuse growing up.
At times the book felt redundant, but generally, I think Mr. Quinones captures the complexity and devastation of the opioid crisis in America very well. We are still battling the fallout of events from four decades ago.
I was struck over and over again by the ways race impacts this story.
At times the book felt redundant, but generally, I think Mr. Quinones captures the complexity and devastation of the opioid crisis in America very well. We are still battling the fallout of events from four decades ago.
I was struck over and over again by the ways race impacts this story.
His background as a journalist is what I found most valuable in this account. The history itself is already compelling, especially considering the amount of things that had to line up to bring this epidemic to the heights it reached and still reaches, but his retelling brings it to another level. Also notable (which in some ways carries the torch from The New Jim Crow), is the interesting societal pieces that shape the scene in the background - that what lead to upheaval probably was rooted in the populations that heroin took hold of - suburban, affluent, white adolescents and families...or, perhaps, that few weren’t affected, as opposed to solely people of color as was the case with the silence during mass incarceration related to crack cocaine.
Good read that keeps you captivated
Good read that keeps you captivated
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This was a very personal read for me as I have had my own demons in the past (none as to the extent in the book). But this book was well written, and compelling enough that I read it fairly quickly. It opened my eyes further to the drug epidemic in this country (and I though they were open wide already), and it also helped me understand where black tar heroin had come from and the story of the pill scourge of middle america. It is not a fun read my any means, but it enlightening, and at the end offers hope.
This book deals with an interesting and important topic. I think it falls flat not based on the topic or the research but on the poor writing style of the author. This book is sorely in need of a good editor to chop out about 150 pages of humdrum and get the story moving.
It's unbearably repetitive. Sometimes I would think I lost my place because I was reading a sentence that was nearly word for word repeated from earlier. He keeps bringing up the same points - Lortab and Percoset contain acetaminophen which makes it harder to abuse, Mexicans don't like dealing with black people, kids abusing pills are middle class... Over and over again. He mentions that pills mixed with acetaminophen cause liver damage 9 times in the book. We get it! Jeez.
There are no central characters. He offers little advice. It's unfortunately boring for such an incredible story. Focus on one city, one group of characters. Not this endless ensemble of dealers and cops and users that we can't keep track of.
It's unbearably repetitive. Sometimes I would think I lost my place because I was reading a sentence that was nearly word for word repeated from earlier. He keeps bringing up the same points - Lortab and Percoset contain acetaminophen which makes it harder to abuse, Mexicans don't like dealing with black people, kids abusing pills are middle class... Over and over again. He mentions that pills mixed with acetaminophen cause liver damage 9 times in the book. We get it! Jeez.
There are no central characters. He offers little advice. It's unfortunately boring for such an incredible story. Focus on one city, one group of characters. Not this endless ensemble of dealers and cops and users that we can't keep track of.
I'm sure this book is wonderful but not relevant to my sociology project. DNF
dark
informative
slow-paced
Liked the present day focus on how the drugs spread through America as well as the origin story of a specific notable figure in that trade. However, I was not a fan of the constant POV switching, it would go from the history within America to the beginnings of a specific person within 1-2 chapters. Would take me out of the action just as I would get sucked in.
Well-written, eye-opening narrative nonfiction packed with information about the modern history of opiates, focusing on the connection between the rise of black tar heroin as organized and peddled through a connection of poor and working class Mexican farmers (at least at the bottom) and the oxycodone epidemic affecting poor and working class, mostly white rural Americans (at least in the beginning). Lots of unexpected parallels not only between farmers and users but also between heroin ring organizers and pharmaceutical companies, heroin business structure and retail business structure, small town oxycodone economics and large scale capitalistic economics… There are lots of players who knowingly or not, legally or not, contributed to some seriously devastating results for families and entire towns. Regardless of how and why they arrived, glad more and more decision-makers realize that the way out of a drug epidemic is not through their traditional “tough on crime, lock ‘em up” policies. If only that realization would've happened decades earlier before so many urban, mostly Black American lives were irreparably damaged.