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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
This Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfictional work about the opiate epidemic in the US was compelling and informative. A subject I knew nothing about became both real and important, depicted through its history, actual drug traffickers, addicts, policemen, and others involved in the crisis. Quinones looks at many angles: the role of heroin from Mexico (and the particular distribution system that made it so successful), the drug companies, doctors, towns left hopeless by the departure of old industries and few job opportunities. My minor critique is that the structure of the book feels rather arbitrary. The first half is incredibly jumpy, going back and forth among five or six different narratives at once. I think the author was trying to convey the simultaneity of various factors that led to the opioid crisis, but I found it unnecessarily confusing. Structure notwithstanding, I highly recommend this book.
This was such a captivating read for me. Learning how so many pieces had to perfectly fit together to create the storm we are now in was fascinating.
The facts and numbers were told through easy to follow stories that made them come to life.
The facts and numbers were told through easy to follow stories that made them come to life.
3.5
Really really good information, just felt like the writing got repetitive and hard to follow. Different writing style and would probably be a 5/5
Really really good information, just felt like the writing got repetitive and hard to follow. Different writing style and would probably be a 5/5
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Great informative read
As someone who sort of works in social services and sees heroin and prescription drug abuse I️ was looking for a book that provided some good information about where it all came from. This provided that and more. The writer is excellent and provides a fascinating background for this epidemic all while being non-judgmental and sowing the seeds for hope. This writer has been extremely thorough in investigating this whole ordeal and while he shows this epidemic spreading like a web throughout our country he shows the growth and progression of the epidemic using a town in Ohio which reminded me so much of my own hometown and several other hometowns in states that I️ have visited. Well worth the read
As someone who sort of works in social services and sees heroin and prescription drug abuse I️ was looking for a book that provided some good information about where it all came from. This provided that and more. The writer is excellent and provides a fascinating background for this epidemic all while being non-judgmental and sowing the seeds for hope. This writer has been extremely thorough in investigating this whole ordeal and while he shows this epidemic spreading like a web throughout our country he shows the growth and progression of the epidemic using a town in Ohio which reminded me so much of my own hometown and several other hometowns in states that I️ have visited. Well worth the read
I literally just put this as my current read on my June wrap up but I think I’m done. As much interest as I have in the topic, I cannot deal with the way it’s written. I super love the sciency, non-fiction parts about the drug and how it got where it was today but the memoir parts that recount individual stories (including the author’s thoughts) feel incredibly superfluous and I’m simply not in the mood!
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but a bit too long. A definite agenda
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
The author is very careful about building up his agenda over several hundred pages, but he has one just the same.
Narrative Themes:
1. The United States existed in some ideal state in the past.
2. Then an economy in one place was hollowed out by changes in the general economy.
3. Some people somewhere went on disability (instead of unemployment), and physicians readily prescribed pain meds (which were addictive).
4. This act paved the way for harder drugs (black tar, in this case--provided by Mexicans from one particular region of Mexico).
5. The white knight (government) came in to rescue people from being victims of the Big Bad Corporations and the vacuum created by not having enough Virtuous Government.
6. Intelligent Jewish businessman (i.e., the Sackler Brothers) seeing opportunities that nobody had ever seen before.
All of this is wrapped around copious amounts of personal stories and anecdotal evidence.
Cast of Characters (these are general form characters, because the number of people in this book is just *dizzying*):
1. Police detectives
2. Dealers.
3. Junkies
4. Pharmaceutical companies.
5. Scientists/ Corrupt Physicians.
6. Regulatory Agencies.
7. Black people. (And they are put in insofar as they are NOT part of the story. Mexicans don't sell to them, don't buy from them, and don't look for ANY interaction with them. They are not represented among the addicts in this story. And they are not a focus of government policy because they just aren't important/ informed enough as a voting block. p. 45, 144, 163, 261.)
8. (p. 63.) Immigrants coming to the United States to chase their dreams. Specific subgroups of immigrants from one particular place generating an industry.
9. Insurance companies (third parties) that pervert the process of recovery / pain management because they will only pay for what they want to pay for.
Epistemic/ Foundational Themes:
1. Treatment of drug use as a moral issue and not a cost benefit/ hedonistic one. (Drugs can be so many different things to so many different people!)
2. Demonizing of drug companies (that are just businesses who are out to serve their raison d'etre of making money).
3. Characterization of the drug business as just that-- a business. (Predictably, it needs to be set up as a business so that it can be demonized some more.)
4. Government being the last entity to know that something is going wrong. (The drug cartels had a sprawling, razor sharp business model that was developed *long* before any cops knew what was going on.)
5. The private market being much more responsive, adaptive, customer oriented and fast.
6. Decriminalization of drug addiction and treatment thereof as an illness.
One topic that is not taken up at any point in this fairly long book is that prohibition itself is the problem, and that it would be easiest to just not get into this issue at all. (But that then would request that the government become even smaller. It would also entail leaving people to be free to live their lives, even if that life was at somebody who like recreational drugs.)
It has been noted (in this book and others) that drug cartels are smarter and more responsive and better organized than government agencies. And the easiest way to compromise your law enforcement agencies is to set them in conflict with people who are easily able to buy them off.
Another point is that this book does, in some sense, vindicate Donald Trump because a huge part of the market for illegal drugs really does come from Mexico and South America.
I also wonder how big is the scale of this effect. (Portsmouth, Ohio is a town of 20,000 people.)
All in all, I would have to say that this author does a reasonably good job of unwinding the threads of the rich tapestry that are the drug problem in the United States.
Verdict: Recommended, but wait until this goes down to about $1 plus shipping.
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
The author is very careful about building up his agenda over several hundred pages, but he has one just the same.
Narrative Themes:
1. The United States existed in some ideal state in the past.
2. Then an economy in one place was hollowed out by changes in the general economy.
3. Some people somewhere went on disability (instead of unemployment), and physicians readily prescribed pain meds (which were addictive).
4. This act paved the way for harder drugs (black tar, in this case--provided by Mexicans from one particular region of Mexico).
5. The white knight (government) came in to rescue people from being victims of the Big Bad Corporations and the vacuum created by not having enough Virtuous Government.
6. Intelligent Jewish businessman (i.e., the Sackler Brothers) seeing opportunities that nobody had ever seen before.
All of this is wrapped around copious amounts of personal stories and anecdotal evidence.
Cast of Characters (these are general form characters, because the number of people in this book is just *dizzying*):
1. Police detectives
2. Dealers.
3. Junkies
4. Pharmaceutical companies.
5. Scientists/ Corrupt Physicians.
6. Regulatory Agencies.
7. Black people. (And they are put in insofar as they are NOT part of the story. Mexicans don't sell to them, don't buy from them, and don't look for ANY interaction with them. They are not represented among the addicts in this story. And they are not a focus of government policy because they just aren't important/ informed enough as a voting block. p. 45, 144, 163, 261.)
8. (p. 63.) Immigrants coming to the United States to chase their dreams. Specific subgroups of immigrants from one particular place generating an industry.
9. Insurance companies (third parties) that pervert the process of recovery / pain management because they will only pay for what they want to pay for.
Epistemic/ Foundational Themes:
1. Treatment of drug use as a moral issue and not a cost benefit/ hedonistic one. (Drugs can be so many different things to so many different people!)
2. Demonizing of drug companies (that are just businesses who are out to serve their raison d'etre of making money).
3. Characterization of the drug business as just that-- a business. (Predictably, it needs to be set up as a business so that it can be demonized some more.)
4. Government being the last entity to know that something is going wrong. (The drug cartels had a sprawling, razor sharp business model that was developed *long* before any cops knew what was going on.)
5. The private market being much more responsive, adaptive, customer oriented and fast.
6. Decriminalization of drug addiction and treatment thereof as an illness.
One topic that is not taken up at any point in this fairly long book is that prohibition itself is the problem, and that it would be easiest to just not get into this issue at all. (But that then would request that the government become even smaller. It would also entail leaving people to be free to live their lives, even if that life was at somebody who like recreational drugs.)
It has been noted (in this book and others) that drug cartels are smarter and more responsive and better organized than government agencies. And the easiest way to compromise your law enforcement agencies is to set them in conflict with people who are easily able to buy them off.
Another point is that this book does, in some sense, vindicate Donald Trump because a huge part of the market for illegal drugs really does come from Mexico and South America.
I also wonder how big is the scale of this effect. (Portsmouth, Ohio is a town of 20,000 people.)
All in all, I would have to say that this author does a reasonably good job of unwinding the threads of the rich tapestry that are the drug problem in the United States.
Verdict: Recommended, but wait until this goes down to about $1 plus shipping.
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but a bit too long. A definite agenda
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
The author is very careful about building up his agenda over several hundred pages, but he has one just the same.
Narrative Themes:
1. The United States existed in some ideal state in the past.
2. Then an economy in one place was hollowed out by changes in the general economy.
3. Some people somewhere went on disability (instead of unemployment), and physicians readily prescribed pain meds (which were addictive).
4. This act paved the way for harder drugs (black tar, in this case--provided by Mexicans from one particular region of Mexico).
5. The white knight (government) came in to rescue people from being victims of the Big Bad Corporations and the vacuum created by not having enough Virtuous Government.
6. Intelligent Jewish businessman (i.e., the Sackler Brothers) seeing opportunities that nobody had ever seen before.
All of this is wrapped around copious amounts of personal stories and anecdotal evidence.
Cast of Characters (these are general form characters, because the number of people in this book is just *dizzying*):
1. Police detectives
2. Dealers.
3. Junkies
4. Pharmaceutical companies.
5. Scientists/ Corrupt Physicians.
6. Regulatory Agencies.
7. Black people. (And they are put in insofar as they are NOT part of the story. Mexicans don't sell to them, don't buy from them, and don't look for ANY interaction with them. They are not represented among the addicts in this story. And they are not a focus of government policy because they just aren't important/ informed enough as a voting block. p. 45, 144, 163, 261.)
8. (p. 63.) Immigrants coming to the United States to chase their dreams. Specific subgroups of immigrants from one particular place generating an industry.
9. Insurance companies (third parties) that pervert the process of recovery / pain management because they will only pay for what they want to pay for.
Epistemic/ Foundational Themes:
1. Treatment of drug use as a moral issue and not a cost benefit/ hedonistic one. (Drugs can be so many different things to so many different people!)
2. Demonizing of drug companies (that are just businesses who are out to serve their raison d'etre of making money).
3. Characterization of the drug business as just that-- a business. (Predictably, it needs to be set up as a business so that it can be demonized some more.)
4. Government being the last entity to know that something is going wrong. (The drug cartels had a sprawling, razor sharp business model that was developed *long* before any cops knew what was going on.)
5. The private market being much more responsive, adaptive, customer oriented and fast.
6. Decriminalization of drug addiction and treatment thereof as an illness.
One topic that is not taken up at any point in this fairly long book is that prohibition itself is the problem, and that it would be easiest to just not get into this issue at all. (But that then would request that the government become even smaller. It would also entail leaving people to be free to live their lives, even if that life was at somebody who like recreational drugs.)
It has been noted (in this book and others) that drug cartels are smarter and more responsive and better organized than government agencies. And the easiest way to compromise your law enforcement agencies is to set them in conflict with people who are easily able to buy them off.
Another point is that this book does, in some sense, vindicate Donald Trump because a huge part of the market for illegal drugs really does come from Mexico and South America.
I also wonder how big is the scale of this effect. (Portsmouth, Ohio is a town of 20,000 people.)
All in all, I would have to say that this author does a reasonably good job of unwinding the threads of the rich tapestry that are the drug problem in the United States.
Verdict: Recommended, but wait until this goes down to about $1 plus shipping.
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
The author is very careful about building up his agenda over several hundred pages, but he has one just the same.
Narrative Themes:
1. The United States existed in some ideal state in the past.
2. Then an economy in one place was hollowed out by changes in the general economy.
3. Some people somewhere went on disability (instead of unemployment), and physicians readily prescribed pain meds (which were addictive).
4. This act paved the way for harder drugs (black tar, in this case--provided by Mexicans from one particular region of Mexico).
5. The white knight (government) came in to rescue people from being victims of the Big Bad Corporations and the vacuum created by not having enough Virtuous Government.
6. Intelligent Jewish businessman (i.e., the Sackler Brothers) seeing opportunities that nobody had ever seen before.
All of this is wrapped around copious amounts of personal stories and anecdotal evidence.
Cast of Characters (these are general form characters, because the number of people in this book is just *dizzying*):
1. Police detectives
2. Dealers.
3. Junkies
4. Pharmaceutical companies.
5. Scientists/ Corrupt Physicians.
6. Regulatory Agencies.
7. Black people. (And they are put in insofar as they are NOT part of the story. Mexicans don't sell to them, don't buy from them, and don't look for ANY interaction with them. They are not represented among the addicts in this story. And they are not a focus of government policy because they just aren't important/ informed enough as a voting block. p. 45, 144, 163, 261.)
8. (p. 63.) Immigrants coming to the United States to chase their dreams. Specific subgroups of immigrants from one particular place generating an industry.
9. Insurance companies (third parties) that pervert the process of recovery / pain management because they will only pay for what they want to pay for.
Epistemic/ Foundational Themes:
1. Treatment of drug use as a moral issue and not a cost benefit/ hedonistic one. (Drugs can be so many different things to so many different people!)
2. Demonizing of drug companies (that are just businesses who are out to serve their raison d'etre of making money).
3. Characterization of the drug business as just that-- a business. (Predictably, it needs to be set up as a business so that it can be demonized some more.)
4. Government being the last entity to know that something is going wrong. (The drug cartels had a sprawling, razor sharp business model that was developed *long* before any cops knew what was going on.)
5. The private market being much more responsive, adaptive, customer oriented and fast.
6. Decriminalization of drug addiction and treatment thereof as an illness.
One topic that is not taken up at any point in this fairly long book is that prohibition itself is the problem, and that it would be easiest to just not get into this issue at all. (But that then would request that the government become even smaller. It would also entail leaving people to be free to live their lives, even if that life was at somebody who like recreational drugs.)
It has been noted (in this book and others) that drug cartels are smarter and more responsive and better organized than government agencies. And the easiest way to compromise your law enforcement agencies is to set them in conflict with people who are easily able to buy them off.
Another point is that this book does, in some sense, vindicate Donald Trump because a huge part of the market for illegal drugs really does come from Mexico and South America.
I also wonder how big is the scale of this effect. (Portsmouth, Ohio is a town of 20,000 people.)
All in all, I would have to say that this author does a reasonably good job of unwinding the threads of the rich tapestry that are the drug problem in the United States.
Verdict: Recommended, but wait until this goes down to about $1 plus shipping.
Riveting information and mostly well-told. One has to give credit when an author is pulling together so many strands into a narrative. However, I felt he hit the note about ‘white, middle and upper middle class’ use a little too hard & often. By the end of the book it didn’t feel carefully or thoughtfully done. But, overall an outstanding book.