'Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic' by Sam Quinones is a wide-ranging narrative that delves into the intertwining stories of the oxycontin epidemic and the black tar heroin epidemic, focusing on the impact of pharmaceutical companies on the rise of prescription pain relievers and the subsequent emergence of the Opioid Crisis. Quinones provides a detailed account of how legal opiates led to the heroin epidemic, shedding light on the role of Purdue Pharma, unscrupulous doctors, and the Mexican black tar heroin trade in shaping America's current addiction problem. The book offers a mix of informative storytelling and insightful commentary, highlighting the societal ills facing America and the breakdown of community due to widespread addiction.
The writing style of 'Dreamland' is engaging and informative, presenting a sobering yet compelling narrative that keeps readers immersed in the harsh realities of addiction and the devastating consequences of the opiate crisis. Quinones skillfully weaves together multiple storylines, offering a nuanced perspective on the complexities of the epidemic while exposing the greed, negligence, and ignorance that fueled the drugging of America. Despite some pacing issues and repetitive elements, the book remains a powerful and essential read that provides valuable insights into the root causes of the opiate problem in the United States.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include discussions of addiction, overdose, and the societal impact of drug abuse, which may be distressing for some readers.
From The Publisher:
Winner of the NBCC Award for General Nonfiction
Named on Amazon's Best Books of the Year 2015-Michael Botticelli, U.S. Drug Czar (Politico) Favorite Book of the Year-Angus Deaton, Nobel Prize Economics (Bloomberg/WSJ) Best Books of 2015-Matt Bevin, Governor of Kentucky (WSJ) Books of the Year-Slate.com's 10 Best Books of 2015-Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Books of 2015 -Buzzfeed's 19 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015-The Daily Beast's Best Big Idea Books of 2015-Seattle Times' Best Books of 2015-Boston Globe's Best Books of 2015-St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Best Books of 2015-The Guardian's The Best Book We Read All Year-Audible's Best Books of 2015-Texas Observer's Five Books We Loved in 2015-Chicago Public Library's Best Nonfiction Books of 2015
From a small town in Mexico to the boardrooms of Big Pharma to main streets nationwide, an explosive and shocking account of addiction in the heartland of America.
In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America-addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.
With a great reporter's narrative skill and the storytelling ability of a novelist, acclaimed journalist Sam Quinones weaves together two classic tales of capitalism run amok whose unintentional collision has been catastrophic. The unfettered prescribing of pain medications during the 1990s reached its peak in Purdue Pharma's campaign to market OxyContin, its new, expensive-extremely addictive-miracle painkiller. Meanwhile, a massive influx of black tar heroin-cheap, potent, and originating from one small county on Mexico's west coast, independent of any drug cartel-assaulted small town and mid-sized cities across the country, driven by a brilliant, almost unbeatable marketing and distribution system. Together these phenomena continue to lay waste to communities from Tennessee to Oregon, Indiana to New Mexico.
Introducing a memorable cast of characters-pharma pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors, and parents-Quinones shows how these tales fit together. Dreamland is a revelatory account of the corrosive threat facing America and its heartland.
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About the Author:
Sam Quinones is a journalist, author and storyteller whose two acclaimed books of narrative nonfiction about Mexico and Mexican immigration made him, according to the SF Chronicle Book Review, "the most original writer on Mexico and the border." His book, Dreamland, won the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction.
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