Reefer Madness - Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market
by Eric Schlosser
published
2003
by Houghton Mifflin
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binding
Paperback
isbn
0965762645
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bookshelves:
nonfiction-finished,
politics,
reviewed
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Potheads, Pornhounds, and Migrant Workers
Eric Schlosser, the grade-a muckraker whose widely read Fast Food Nation catapulted him to fame, returns with Reefer Madness, dedicated to nothing less than examining the underbelly of America's black market. Through three distinct essays (dealing with marijuana, migrant workers, and pornography), he examines the history, underlying economics, policy effects, and future directions of products and services that America can neither seem to abstain from nor openly embrace.
Reefer Madness is a di...more
Eric Schlosser, the grade-a muckraker whose widely read Fast Food Nation catapulted him to fame, returns with Reefer Madness, dedicated to nothing less than examining the underbelly of America's black market. Through three distinct essays (dealing with marijuana, migrant workers, and pornography), he examines the history, underlying economics, policy effects, and future directions of products and services that America can neither seem to abstain from nor openly embrace.
Reefer Madness is a difficult book to review because, in practice, it's actually three completely distinct essays, tied together at the front and the back. The essays have markedly different style and tone, making a comprehensive review challenging. So, I will take the easier route: briefly reviewing each section. The book's overall score is the average, weighted to how long each essay is.
Reefer Madness: 74/100
Schlosser's first foray into the world of the underground economy deals with the vast disparity between the harshness of marijuana prohibition and its apparent popularity. Heavy on both the legal history and status quo, Schlosser's peerless research shines, giving an unvarnished account of how pot is grown, distributed, prosecuted, and proselytized. He interviews people on both the smoking and the busting ends of the spectrum, and makes a convincing case that pot is, by income, the most profitable cash crop in the country, above corn (a position advocated by some long-time federal investigators, among others).
His final conclusions are that (a) the chemical and psychological dangers of marijuana are likely far lower than those of alcohol and nicotine, (b) proper research into marijuana's properties is being systematically discouraged to keep it classifies as being higher-risk than cocaine or PCP, (c) draconian enforcement has led to America's staggering incarceration rate (which has unduly criminalized that inmate population and destroyed both lives and families), and (d) that a system of taxation and regulation would more effectively solve America's pot-related problems than the utter failure that is the War on Drugs. He makes a solid (if somewhat dry) case for these points, backed up by considerable evidence.
In The Strawberry Fields: 62/100
The weakest essay of the three, Schlosser's examination of the hardships of Mexican strawberry pickers in southern California suffers from an all-too-common affliction in nonfiction: irrelevance. The investigative punch of this section is largely weakened by immigration having, since the book's publication, become the new "hot" issue for American conservatives, which has led many of Schlosser's assertions to become widely known. To his credit, his treatment of the issue does a fair job of both humanizing migrants and of explaining the pressures on growers to use migrants, giving the reasons for poor labor conditions without demonizing or forgiving unnecessarily. The historical angle of the story is also a welcome addition, one rarely heard in today's rhetorical war. Still, the essay is too short and isn't an eye-opener. Schlosser could have done much better.
An Empire Of The Obscene: 86/100
Despite the book's title, it is the third section that is both the longest and most engaging of the three. Schlosser brilliantly weds a comprehensive examination of porn's move from underground to mainstream with the legacy of an almost unknown figure who, by all accounts, essentially controlled pornography distribution for over 30 years: Reuben Sturman. Schlosser's high-density, high-quality research alone would provide much the same interesting tone as in the first essay, but combined with the rise and fall of Reuben Sturman it becomes electric and intensely personal.
Despite its lengthy exposition and its mere 103-page length, the story of Reuben Sturman could easily be an HBO TV series on par with the best serial television ever produced. The story is so incredible it can be hard to believe, with Sturman and his rival Richard Rosfelder (of the IRS) spending decades locking horns with great victories and defeats. The story has a femme fatal, a prison break, money laundering of the highest caliber, the Mob, and explosions. From his first run-in with the law in 1963 to his eventual death in 1997, Sturman waged a personal war on the U.S. government, and it's fascinating stuff.
Perhaps Schlosser's strength in this section stems from his detachment to its outcome. Unlike the first two essays, which have a prescriptive tone, hard-core porn is essentially a done deal in America. While a "war on porn" has been pushed by the Bush administration, a conflict Schlosser anticipates but had not yet had a chance to see emerge, he (rightly) treats it as a futile battle: porn and prudes locked horns for decades, and porn won. As a result, Schlosser spends very little time telling us how things ought to be and can focus on telling us how it was.
Final Overview
Throughout, Schlosser's research is staggering. The endnotes and bibliography make up over 20% of the book, and Schlosser cites just about every fact he asserts, a sadly waning practice in non-fiction. This helps to make his more eye-popping assertions even more striking. It's clear throughout that he isn't making any of this stuff up. Truth is stranger than fiction, and Schlosser is determined to uncover the truths about areas of American living and business that many people would rather not examine at all (in fiction or otherwise). Though it lacks the powerful, life-changing punch of Fast Food Nation, this is nevertheless an excellent book that every adult American should read. ...less
bookshelves:
contemporary-journalism
Read in November, 2005
This time, Schlosser explores three biggest players in USA underground economy, which are drugs, illegal immigrant workers, and pornography (although the latest one is already being legal recently). The book is consisting three separated essays that are looked into each problem closely so we can capture what the problem really is. However, there is a strong string between these three essays; it suggests that all of the underground economy activities are affecting to and being affected by mainstr...more
This time, Schlosser explores three biggest players in USA underground economy, which are drugs, illegal immigrant workers, and pornography (although the latest one is already being legal recently). The book is consisting three separated essays that are looked into each problem closely so we can capture what the problem really is. However, there is a strong string between these three essays; it suggests that all of the underground economy activities are affecting to and being affected by mainstream economy. We should analyze both of them to get the overall face of one country’s economy.
In “Reefer Madness”, Schlosser takes us a look into the history of war between US governments with marijuana, the most loving “drugs” in USA. The highlight of this essay was in how policy and law on marijuana are affected by culture-sentiment and political interest. Thus, the policy and law have been proved not only ineffective to curb marijuana business but the implementation is also full of corruption and leads to unfair punishment which somehow creates bigger and more profitable underground marijuana business. In the end of essay, Schlosser invites USA citizen to vote for new law to administrate drugs based on scientific fact, rational mind, and pragmatic thinking rather than based on emotional culture sentiment and morality.
The second essay,” In the Strawberry Fields”, Schlosser points his finger into unchecked free market that allow exploitation of illegal immigrant workers in producing the most profitable crop in California, strawberry. Strawberry is high risk investment since the crop is quite fragile and need intensive treatment. However, since the competition is high, strawberry growers force to take every opportunity to wider the margin without increase consumer’s strawberry price. Torn between choice to use high technology, high skilled union workers, or cheap unskilled illegal workers, they resort to the cheapest one. Plenty and uninterrupted illegal immigrant from Mexico are ideal candidates to fill the vacancy in Strawberry fields. This greedy short-term solution brings enormous problem, ranging from immigration problem, higher criminal rate, clash of culture, to future problem in agriculture industry due to its high dependency in illegal cheap workers and lack of use high technology.
“An Empire of the Obscene” is written in a similar style as the one we found in other Schlosser’s book, “Fast Food Nation”. It is opened by the story of sex-industry pioneer, Reuben Sterman. Sterman could be regarded as the man that created sex industry from null into a giant multi media industry with revenue reach into million dollars per year. Ironically, Sterman was being jailed not because of breaking obscenity law but because of tax evasion. Seems no matter hard US government chased Sterman using obscenity law, the effort was destined to doom, as obscenity is laid in the eyes of beholder. Now, sex industry is legal and counted into the mainstream economy. It becomes an industry that supplied by people and made by people, as democratic as it can be. Schlosser remind us that the cost of freedom is to accept what freedom brought to us. In this case: pornography.
I like the first essay, but Schlosser opinion and argument in the second essay are not really easy to grab, and the third essay falls into a narration (though very interesting one). One of the good things in reading Schlosser’s book is although the topic is serious; he presents it in light popular way, almost like reading an article in magazine. The weak side is obvious; you have to read other book to get deeper understanding of the topic....less
Read in February, 2006
After reading Schlosser's earlier work, Fast Food Nation, I excitedly jumped into his latest work, Reefer Madness. I was disappointed.
This book felt like three other research projects he did - three projects that were on his B list. While he devoted an entire book to the the history and implication of the Fast Food industry in Fast Food Nation, he just cobbled together three subjects.
The first dealt with the views of marijuana by our government. Growing up in the Nancy Regan "Just S...more
After reading Schlosser's earlier work, Fast Food Nation, I excitedly jumped into his latest work, Reefer Madness. I was disappointed.
This book felt like three other research projects he did - three projects that were on his B list. While he devoted an entire book to the the history and implication of the Fast Food industry in Fast Food Nation, he just cobbled together three subjects.
The first dealt with the views of marijuana by our government. Growing up in the Nancy Regan "Just Say No" world I always figured that government was against marijuana. In fact, the first official American government laws on marijuana asked Americans to GROW marijuana.
There were long biographies of particular marijuana farmers which I found a little long. People who were simply growing marijuana or trafficking marijuana spent more time in prisons than many murderers. Judges were given wide berths in the interpretation of trafficking, possession, and the amounts of marijuana. Sadly enough, some of the harshest critics of recreational drugs had their own children just have to attend community service and a nominal fine. Ironically, Charles Keating, Jr., who spent millions of taxpayer money on anti-drug campaigns, would get into jail for billion dollar fraud in the S&L scandals.
The second essay was about immigration workers . This has been talked about ad nauseum and the amount of page devoted hardly give it justice. I learned a lot about strawberries, but perhaps working in a Hispanic newspaper for the past four years makes it harder to give me great new insight
The third essay was about the growth of pornography mostly covering the life of a certain porn mogul (not Larry Flynt). The book lightly touched on some of the hypocrosies on our public view of porn and our private habits. There were a number of fascinating points in this essay but it just lacked focus.
That pretty much sums the book up. I congratulate Eric on a fine job of research and almost thundering together a book that would shake our thinking....less
bookshelves:
bookclub
Read in January, 2006
Reefer madness is a look at the underground economy. Schlosser uses three aspects of the underground economy as a lens; the cultivation of marijuana, the hiring of illegal migrant workers (specifically California agriculture), and the production and distribution of pornography.
Scholosser is very much sympathetic towards the participants in these industries. He paints marijuana growers as small time farmers who are trying to make ends meet, and who are caught in the war on drugs by outsiders ...more
Reefer madness is a look at the underground economy. Schlosser uses three aspects of the underground economy as a lens; the cultivation of marijuana, the hiring of illegal migrant workers (specifically California agriculture), and the production and distribution of pornography.
Scholosser is very much sympathetic towards the participants in these industries. He paints marijuana growers as small time farmers who are trying to make ends meet, and who are caught in the war on drugs by outsiders who do not have the will to go after dealers of more sophisticated drugs and their lawyers. Migrant workers as those who are hoping for a better life who are caught in hypocracy of an American agricultural market that can only survive because of cheap, exploited labor (although he identifies a few companies as treating their migrant workers well). And those who produce and distribute porn as people trying to make a living who are attacked by hypocritical politicians and conservative activists who want to draw attention away from their own moral failings. And in all cases, he advocates legalization to enable regulation. Marijuana as something without the culture of violence of harder drugs, and fewer effects than alcohol. Migrant workers so they can come and work the fields without the moral hazards. Pornography so it can be regulated and the participants protected under labor laws.
His use of stories has the big danger of lack of balance. You should be skeptical that he is cherry picking examples, and should be hesitant to generalize what he says. But you walk away thinking a couple of things.
1. There are at minimum, specific examples where the U.S. legal system should back away from, and the current system does more harm than good.
2. That the U.S. legal system is messed up in its priorities, its sense of proportion, and in the case of its morality/sin aspects, focused on the sins that are held by those without money and power....less
Read in April, 2004
Reefer Madness is a collection of 3 extended essays about the underground market in America for marijuana, migrant workers, and pornography. The author has focused primarily on the economic aspects of the underground. The topics themselves are quite interesting. Reading about the strict laws against marijuana use are both frightening and mind-boggling. How can consuming something as harmless as a joint warrant a harsher sentence than what is often handed out to murderers or other violent crimina...more
Reefer Madness is a collection of 3 extended essays about the underground market in America for marijuana, migrant workers, and pornography. The author has focused primarily on the economic aspects of the underground. The topics themselves are quite interesting. Reading about the strict laws against marijuana use are both frightening and mind-boggling. How can consuming something as harmless as a joint warrant a harsher sentence than what is often handed out to murderers or other violent criminals? How is the US contributing to the influx of illegal immigrants in the US by failing to regulate agricultural growers who employ migrant laborers from Mexico for little to nothing? What does the overwhelming consumption of porn in the US reveal about how out of touch mainstream thought and criticism regarding porn are from what many people feel about it privately? The point being there is never an absence of food for thought. Schlosser feels that few laws albeit strictly enforced ones and government regulation of certain areas like business and worker's rights are necessary to produce the kind of equal and fair economy and country that most people espouse. Few would disagree with him there. Ultimately though, this book is somewhat stilted and doesn't form a very cohesive whole. While some of the essays seem to hold great promise they aren't developed enough and seem to be a little helter-skelter. As if the author gathered up his information from previous papers and interviews and decided to just throw it together to form a book. You understand his position but not convincingly. I am sure the author was riding a high after his previous success with Fast Food Nation but this book fizzles and eventually becomes less than hoped for. Once again, interesting food for thought but to feel sufficiently informed about these subjects you'll have to turn elsewhere for more detailed and channeled knowledge. ...less
This book is divided into three sections: one on marijuana, one on cheap labor/immigration/etc, and one on pornography. However, it would have been much better had Schlosser devoted a book to each topic. They are all fascinating, and it's interesting to see just what a huge part of our culture and government each of these taboos are.
The first section on marijuana seems the most thoroughly researched and the most fascinating. It is scary to consider how much time and effort the government put...more
This book is divided into three sections: one on marijuana, one on cheap labor/immigration/etc, and one on pornography. However, it would have been much better had Schlosser devoted a book to each topic. They are all fascinating, and it's interesting to see just what a huge part of our culture and government each of these taboos are.
The first section on marijuana seems the most thoroughly researched and the most fascinating. It is scary to consider how much time and effort the government puts into banning marijuana when there are so many other dangerous drugs (more dangerous even) out there that should have just as much attention, if not more. Some of the stories concerning the individuals were heart-breaking, such as the veteran who was kicked out of his home for growing medical marijuana -- and he had no other place to go.
The second section on cheap labor laws and Mexican immigrants was also fascinating, but it was far too short. Basically, it is a brief overview of what most of us already know and I think if Schlosser had written on separate book on this topic, he could have done so much more.
The third section on pornography was also interesting, particularly about the porn mogul (who is not Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt) who rose to the top during the seventies, I think it was. Other than that, this topic too was comprised mainly of what most of us already know about the dark side of the pornography world.
It is not nearly as good as Fast Food Nation, but that is probably because Schlosser tries to cram too much into one book. While they are all tied together under the category of "The American Black Market", each one is so convoluted and complex that they deserve books of their own rather than short chapters within one book. Thus, Schlosser can prevent recycling data that we already know and instead devote his time to presenting us with more unknown ugly facts and more solutions....less
bookshelves:
finished
Read in June, 2008
I don't get this book at all. So there are 3 different segments of the underground economy that are covered: pot, agriculture and porn. They exist in a marginalized world, he briefly talks about them, a short conclusion is tacked on, and away we go? I had no problem with the three choices he made for describing said economy, but there was not enough relevant data to tie these choices together, and without that, I felt that each section left so much unsaid/unexplored. Sure there are loads of juic...more
I don't get this book at all. So there are 3 different segments of the underground economy that are covered: pot, agriculture and porn. They exist in a marginalized world, he briefly talks about them, a short conclusion is tacked on, and away we go? I had no problem with the three choices he made for describing said economy, but there was not enough relevant data to tie these choices together, and without that, I felt that each section left so much unsaid/unexplored. Sure there are loads of juicy details, but just not enough of them. A few men made porn, which is ceasing to be marginalized, the Mexicanization of agriculture relies on a brutal system of peonage that his achieved a modicum of respectability due to a cadre of lawyers working in an unjust system, and pot may have been one of the few success stories of a protectionist economy: ban imports to raise the value of goods at home. And each of these sections elicits a range of emotions: rage at injustice; frustration over stupidity; amusement over the government floundering to battle porn lords. So each section works as an individual snapshot of a problem, but without a cohesive framework to explain more about the significance of said economies, each section just sort of hangs there, incomplete and lacking the firepower it needs. I give it a three because each section is well written, but for a recommendation, I don't think that I can offer. If you are interested in either of the three previously mentioned topics, choose another, more focus tome. If you want to know what the underground economy/vast illegal activities say about the schism between reality and justice, you also have to go elsewhere. I am afraid that doesn't leave much.......less
This book is fun in the way that 'Freakonomics' is fun, discussing business practices that more conservative economists will completely stay away from despite the obvious fact that they help drive the economy in a big way. If you think libertarians are right on for inciting a radically de-regulated take on capitalism, you will love this book. The drugs section is probably the saddest, documenting the story of a down and out midwesterner sentenced to maximum security prison for his limited inv...more
This book is fun in the way that 'Freakonomics' is fun, discussing business practices that more conservative economists will completely stay away from despite the obvious fact that they help drive the economy in a big way. If you think libertarians are right on for inciting a radically de-regulated take on capitalism, you will love this book. The drugs section is probably the saddest, documenting the story of a down and out midwesterner sentenced to maximum security prison for his limited involvement in a large marijuana deal. Although it is nowhere officially documented, marijuana is estimated to be as high as the third biggest cash crop for small time midwestern farmers. I found that out from this book. The pornography section is pretty fascinating too, since it looks at 30 years of the industry's history through the rise and sort of fall of this guy whose genius at doing illegal business without getting prosecuted for it is truly amazing. It all starts with him hand delivering dirty photos at the corner store, moves on to a covert warehouse operation in Cleveland, and expands to become a network of production and distribution companies all owned by phantom businesses whose money is laundered through international banks and filtered back to the kingpin through yet other holdings without his name appearing on a single document. In other words, it's the American dream story retold in a way that no-one claimed to approve of but still helped support. I'm sure the movie will come out about this guy someday. Anyway, this book is well written and much more naughty than Fast Food Nation (which is also really good). Libertarians dig in!...less
Read in January, 2005
The book is divided into three sections (three "underground economies" or expansive black markets) that should be treated separately:
Marijuana- This section failed to tell me anything I didn't know and hadn't heard by my junior year of high school. Sadly, the people who might learn something from this chapter are the least likely to read this book. Dear Schlosser, learn your audience.
Migrant labor- I did not like this section. He took an important and com...more
The book is divided into three sections (three "underground economies" or expansive black markets) that should be treated separately:
Marijuana- This section failed to tell me anything I didn't know and hadn't heard by my junior year of high school. Sadly, the people who might learn something from this chapter are the least likely to read this book. Dear Schlosser, learn your audience.
Migrant labor- I did not like this section. He took an important and complex social issue- labor conditions and the puzzle of migrant workers- and tried so hard to make your heart bleed that it ended up sounding like sending them all home and walling off the border is the kindest, most socially responsible thing we could do, which is contrary to his objective and overshadowed the useful information.
Porn- THIS is the good stuff. I'm glad this chapter came last, but I almost wish I had skipped straight to it. An underdog rising to the top, organized crime, government oversight, an outraged public, a vigilante IRS agent, the American dream, societal hypocrisy- what more could you want from a little slice of history?
my vote: read Fast Food Nation and the pornography chapter of this book. ...less
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Sociologists, Those interested in American culture
Eric Schlosser has made a name for himself by probing behind the scenes of popular American phenomena. He became famous for the Fast Food Nation, which was later turned into a filmm.
Schlosser's subject matter may trend towards the pop world, but his cross of investigative journalism and postmodernist sociology is both fresh and informative. It is obvious that he takes his material as seriously as any professional observer, and the reader reaps the reward of his work in the form of a much cle...more
Eric Schlosser has made a name for himself by probing behind the scenes of popular American phenomena. He became famous for the Fast Food Nation, which was later turned into a filmm.
Schlosser's subject matter may trend towards the pop world, but his cross of investigative journalism and postmodernist sociology is both fresh and informative. It is obvious that he takes his material as seriously as any professional observer, and the reader reaps the reward of his work in the form of a much clearer understanding of the ways that American culture impacts the lives of real individuals.
In this book, Schlosser explores the American black market trade, as it has developed around three much different parts of society - the world of marijuana cultivation and sale, the immigrant labor market in California's fruit fields, and the nearly legitimized pornography industry.
Although there is a bit of a disconnect from section to section (which makes the book read almost like three), each is explored in detail, from multiple angles. He uses many reliable sources, interviews, histories, and his own observation to bring the reader into these rarely seen realms that nevertheless constitute indispensable columns of the American industrial/economic empire....less
bookshelves:
booksofthepast
recommends it for:
hypocrites
This book proves how bloody hypocritical the American government is (as if anyone doubted it already). An in-depth look at three of the US's most productive underground industries (pornography, illegal immigrant labor, and the marijuana trade), "Reefer Madness" details the ridiculousness with which the US government approaches the processes that make up ten percent of the country's total business. Judging by sales, Americans love pot and porn, but live in a country that has law about...more
This book proves how bloody hypocritical the American government is (as if anyone doubted it already). An in-depth look at three of the US's most productive underground industries (pornography, illegal immigrant labor, and the marijuana trade), "Reefer Madness" details the ridiculousness with which the US government approaches the processes that make up ten percent of the country's total business. Judging by sales, Americans love pot and porn, but live in a country that has law about them that are more strict than most any other developed nation. Americans support laws that say what they're doing is wrong and then go out and buy exactly what they're not supposed to buy. The discrepancy between law and consumption is alarming and Schlosser points this out through primary accounts and excellent research. Also alarming is the extent to which the government has mounted a witch hunt against these industries and "crimes" that arise from them, while ignoring other and more dangerous ones. When a person can spend more time in prison for minor marijuana possession than rape, there's something that's all screwed up. Schlosser raises some interesting points that are well supported by fact. The marijuana section alone is worth reading....less
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
I wouldn't
Well written, but overall badly done....don't bother. This follows Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, which was an excellent, well-researched piece of journalism. But this book is very disappointing.
It is supposed to investigate three illegal markets...marijuana, illegal immigrants, and pornography. The section on illegal immigration is less than 35 pages, which is pathetic and doesn't even skim the surface. (He confines his discussion to agricultural workers, leaving our all other categor...more
Well written, but overall badly done....don't bother. This follows Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, which was an excellent, well-researched piece of journalism. But this book is very disappointing.
It is supposed to investigate three illegal markets...marijuana, illegal immigrants, and pornography. The section on illegal immigration is less than 35 pages, which is pathetic and doesn't even skim the surface. (He confines his discussion to agricultural workers, leaving our all other categories of illegal immigrant labor.)
The section on pot is detailed, but still misses a lot. But the most annoying (and longest) section is on porn. While trying to convince readers that the pornographer he's focusing on was treated unjustly, he criticizes the government for treating the man like 'organized crime'. Then he describes the guy's tactics for tax evasion, intimidation, threats, and even paying people who bombed his adversaries...if that isn't organized crime than I'm a natural blonde with a weight problem.
Also, what have popular authors got against footnotes? He's got oodles of references at the back of the book, but you can't really link them to statements in the body.
I don't recommend this at all. ...less
bookshelves:
from_work,
sociology
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
masochists, supervillains, unshakable optimists
although by this point, a lot of the statistics are pretty old & some stuff is surely outdated, this is still a very good introductory examination of not only the concept of the black market, but some of the ways society feels its impact. i'm not quite done yet, but there seems to be a dearth of focus on the internet in the porn section, considering that this was written in like 01 or 02...
update: okay, so he did talk more about the internet in the final chapters. the whole thing still j...more
although by this point, a lot of the statistics are pretty old & some stuff is surely outdated, this is still a very good introductory examination of not only the concept of the black market, but some of the ways society feels its impact. i'm not quite done yet, but there seems to be a dearth of focus on the internet in the porn section, considering that this was written in like 01 or 02...
update: okay, so he did talk more about the internet in the final chapters. the whole thing still just felt a little old, though. but if anything, i'm sure every situation is worse than what is represented in the book. all in all, this book was monstrously depressing. i found myself frequently laughing out loud, because laughing is what you always do in the face of something huge & horrible & gruesome & inescapable. which is what our culture has become. a ruthlessly efficient machine that churns out billions upon billions of dollars & is fueled by thoughtless exploitation & worldwide human suffering. we have crafted the instrument of our own destruction & there is nowhere to hide from it. reading this book makes me feel/sound like sarah connor.
...less
Read in July, 2007
I found this in the bookcase at my sublet. Schlosser looks at the American black market, focusing on marijuana, migrant labor, and the pornography industry. Because much of the information is familiar already, it's the personal stories that he uses to explore these industries that make this an interesting read. Since he doesn't do so with the part about migrants (how could you?), that part is less compelling. But the stories a man convicted to life in prison for serving as a go-between in a ...more
I found this in the bookcase at my sublet. Schlosser looks at the American black market, focusing on marijuana, migrant labor, and the pornography industry. Because much of the information is familiar already, it's the personal stories that he uses to explore these industries that make this an interesting read. Since he doesn't do so with the part about migrants (how could you?), that part is less compelling. But the stories a man convicted to life in prison for serving as a go-between in a pot deal and the life of Reuben Sturman, porn king, make for compelling, if less than literary prose. I found myself wondering why Schlosser was so insistent about his position that America should decriminalize marijuana, yet never made a similar claim about repealing the obscenity laws.
Fun facts:
Oklahoma is the worst place in America to be caught with marijuana. Someone was sentenced to years in prison for possessing .16 grams. Good thing I got out of there ...
The Comstock Law, a 19th century prohibition against distributing "obscene" materials through the mail, is still on the books....less
bookshelves:
nonfiction
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
those researching migrant labor and immigration
Like others who have read Fast Food Nation, I picked this up with great hope. Like others who have read this book, I was sorely disappointed.
It is what it is: a gussied up textbook version of marijuana, porn, and migrant labor statistics that feels as sterile as a World Book encyclopedia. I would have been completely disinterested if the book was not peppered with personal accounts. Still, in pages where these stories were absent, reading became unbearable, as if I was in high school again and...more
Like others who have read Fast Food Nation, I picked this up with great hope. Like others who have read this book, I was sorely disappointed.
It is what it is: a gussied up textbook version of marijuana, porn, and migrant labor statistics that feels as sterile as a World Book encyclopedia. I would have been completely disinterested if the book was not peppered with personal accounts. Still, in pages where these stories were absent, reading became unbearable, as if I was in high school again and been given a horrid research assignment. I grit my teeth and read on, but at the end I felt really guilty; I could have spent my time reading something else worthwhile about te same subject matter.
The only redeeming points about this book is the migrant labor section, especially during this immigration crisis the United States is enduring. Perhaps if all were made to read this section, along with researching other informative texts, instead of carrying uninformed and rather ignorant opinions based on no facts at all, we would be much farther along in the immigration issue than we currently are.
...less
Read in September, 2004
recommends it for:
stoners, porno fiends, people who like strawberries
This book focuses on the black market in America and 3 economies that support it and continue to allow it to flourish: pornography, marijuana, and illegal immigrant labor.
The book compares and contrasts the industries and how the varying degrees of legality, tolerance, and prosecution affect each one and the overall black market as a whole.
By far, most of the book is about the pornography industry. About half as many pages are devoted to marijuana, and the chapter on immigrant labor is ...more
This book focuses on the black market in America and 3 economies that support it and continue to allow it to flourish: pornography, marijuana, and illegal immigrant labor.
The book compares and contrasts the industries and how the varying degrees of legality, tolerance, and prosecution affect each one and the overall black market as a whole.
By far, most of the book is about the pornography industry. About half as many pages are devoted to marijuana, and the chapter on immigrant labor is surprisingly short (I recall that it was about 10-15% of the pages of the book.) The book could have dealt with a more balanced approach to each industry.
This book is written in a straight forward journalistic style. It is slightly lacking in organization and flow from section to section. However, within each section the flow is very natural leading to the rare phenomenon of a nonfiction-page-turner. It is surprisingly unbiased in its presentation and commentary are generally given in separate places.
I read this book because I liked: "Fast Food Nation."
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bookshelves:
non-fiction
Read in June, 2003
(written 6-03)
This was a collection of three essays, one about marijuana law, one about immigrant strawberry pickers, and one about the porn industry. I had already read the first one, found it on the internet, and liked it. The other two were just as insightful and I agree with Schlosser on all points - that the black market is too large to be ignored, that marijuana should be decriminalized, that corporations need to be regulated and the market cannot be trusted to serve the best interests...more
(written 6-03)
This was a collection of three essays, one about marijuana law, one about immigrant strawberry pickers, and one about the porn industry. I had already read the first one, found it on the internet, and liked it. The other two were just as insightful and I agree with Schlosser on all points - that the black market is too large to be ignored, that marijuana should be decriminalized, that corporations need to be regulated and the market cannot be trusted to serve the best interests of humans.
However, I was disappointed in this book. It was nowhere near as good as Fast Food Nation. Not as cohesive, and the book seemed to have been hastily put together as a follow-up to FFN, riding on the wave of its success. Did Schlosser sell out? At least he got lots of press exposure for these ideas.
I learned a lot from these essays but feel they were more appropriate in the setting of the Atlantic Monthly than marketed as a cohesive piece of investigative journalism. But keep up the good work, Schlosser....less
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
keithharris@gmail.com
I read and enjoyed Fast Food Nation several years ago. This book is by the same author, Eric Schlosser.
None of the detail or commentary in this book is original, but it is put together in a compelling package and in a manor that makes you think about how some of the laws and prejudices that we have in place are that way, and it just may make you think to question that.
There is a quote in the ending narration of the book that talked about what Freedom means, and it said that if you are go...more
I read and enjoyed Fast Food Nation several years ago. This book is by the same author, Eric Schlosser.
None of the detail or commentary in this book is original, but it is put together in a compelling package and in a manor that makes you think about how some of the laws and prejudices that we have in place are that way, and it just may make you think to question that.
There is a quote in the ending narration of the book that talked about what Freedom means, and it said that if you are going to be a nation with Freedom then you have to be willing to accept the good and the not necessarily so good that comes with it. That really hit home with me. While I'm not for example a supporter of pot smoking or paying immigrant farm workers extremely low wages, I don't necessarily think that the way our government currently treats these situations is the best either.
It is a compelling read, agree or disagree it should make you think about it.
Thumbs Up....less
bookshelves:
edumacashun
Read in February, 2006
Fast Food Nation drew its strength from the depth with which he researched his topic. The detail and strength of the connections he drew made it such a great story. Unfortunately, Reefer Madness feels like he was trying to pull together three good stories with only thee connection of black/grey markets to stitch them into a single book.
Any one of the topics would have been an excellent book, but forcing them all between one set of covers makes the whole thing feel a bit rushed. Particularly ...more
Fast Food Nation drew its strength from the depth with which he researched his topic. The detail and strength of the connections he drew made it such a great story. Unfortunately, Reefer Madness feels like he was trying to pull together three good stories with only thee connection of black/grey markets to stitch them into a single book.
Any one of the topics would have been an excellent book, but forcing them all between one set of covers makes the whole thing feel a bit rushed. Particularly the middle section about migrant laborers and fruit pickers.
That said, it's a good read, well researched and documented. And the final section about Reuben Sturman, the 'Walt Disney of Porn', is eminently readable.
A good book for a flight, maybe, if you want to look a bit more socially aware than your average Dan Brown/Michael Creighton reader.
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Read in November, 2007
Another book on CD I listened to on the way to work - it was really fascinating... lots and lots of info on the taboo topics of the US underground trades of drugs, sex and illegal workers. I liked how the main focus was on the economic and legal impact of each of these issues and not so much on the morality surrounding it (although the laws are often impacted by that!). The author spent a lot of time on the drug trade (almost exclusively about marijuana use/sale) and way too much time on the s...more
Another book on CD I listened to on the way to work - it was really fascinating... lots and lots of info on the taboo topics of the US underground trades of drugs, sex and illegal workers. I liked how the main focus was on the economic and legal impact of each of these issues and not so much on the morality surrounding it (although the laws are often impacted by that!). The author spent a lot of time on the drug trade (almost exclusively about marijuana use/sale) and way too much time on the sex trade (could have done without all the details on the life of Reubin Sturman (the supposed king of pornography distribution)... there was not as much info on the illegal immigration issue which I would have liked to hear more about. Overall it was a really good 'listen' although not as good as the author's class 'Fast Food Nation.'...less
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avg rating
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number of reviews: 198
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