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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Let me be clear...
This is rating is based on 10 stars for subject matter, research and commitment to the issue. EVERY American should read this book... to understand what is really going on in the Opiate/Opioid "epidemic" and how and why it happened.
However, there are repetitive aspects... I need the author to trust me as a reader. I live in central Ohio... was raised in eastern Ohio and went to school in southern Ohio. These people and places are very real to me.
Before you pass judgement on addicts... or your local doctors, please read this book.
This is rating is based on 10 stars for subject matter, research and commitment to the issue. EVERY American should read this book... to understand what is really going on in the Opiate/Opioid "epidemic" and how and why it happened.
However, there are repetitive aspects... I need the author to trust me as a reader. I live in central Ohio... was raised in eastern Ohio and went to school in southern Ohio. These people and places are very real to me.
Before you pass judgement on addicts... or your local doctors, please read this book.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This was a great book! Dropping my rating to a 4 star simply because it was a bit dense and repetitious at times. But very well written.
I prefer Quinones’ other book, The Least of Us, and think Patrick Keefe’s book Empire of Pain tells the opiate epidemic story a little better re: Sacklers/Purdue Pharma, but the explanation of how the cartels created the heroin epidemic is fascinating and extremely well-told, even if ridiculously depressing. I recommend this book.
informative
sad
medium-paced
I really enjoyed listening to this book but had a very hard time with some of the descriptions used by the author. I felt that he overused the term “junkie” without much empathy. He also repeated some of the same details and phrases over and over again. I think it would have benefited from more editing but overall I was fascinated by the connections drawn.
informative
medium-paced
This book opened my eyes in so many ways about drugs and what left to the crusts we are in now. The book is comprehensive and weaves a compelling narrative through many people and towns to show how devastating and tragic the opioid crisis is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Gun violence, Grief, Murder
I read this for bookclub and while there were some interesting facts, 2015 in terms of the heroin epidemic felt like history. It's gotten even worse and so little has changed.
I found the parts about the Xalisco Boys interesting because I knew very little about the way they revolutionized drug dealing and made it more accessible and less scary to affluent people, but the stuff about the spread of Oxy addiction wasn't new to me.
I found the parts about the Xalisco Boys interesting because I knew very little about the way they revolutionized drug dealing and made it more accessible and less scary to affluent people, but the stuff about the spread of Oxy addiction wasn't new to me.
Packed with information but jumped around in narrative too much, making it hard to follow.
Book Club book. This took me a long time to read because the content was heavy and factual. The author is a journalist. I highly recommend this book, but it's not a quick read
Pop Sugar 2022 Challenge: A book featuring a man-made disaster