Reefer Madness

SEPTEMBER 10, 2003

This one did not hit me nearly as hard as Fast Food Nation. I commend his effort and desire to bring to light the black market in the United States, but the book seemed to lack some focus in a couple sections. The book looks at the marijuana, illegal immigrant and pornography trade. In the final section he ends up telling the life story of a porn mogul and how he attempted to thwart the U.S. government. I guess it is supposed to show how much money the industry produces and how much time the government wastes policing it, but I would liked an approach that used more examples rather than one very big one. I should note that there were more than one, but this particular story dominated the section.

That being said, the whole book was interesting. Most informed citizens know about some of the workings of each of these areas, but Schlosser does a good job of confirming it all with data and first person accounts. In that respect the book is worthwhile. For me it seemed to retread some ground I've covered in the past.

This book is great for people who want to know more or anything about the black market in the United States. If you already know a lot then you can probably skip this and wait for his next book on prison systems, which I'm quite excited about.

Posted in Book at 2:00 pm.