a9f's review against another edition
4.0
A very detailed and frankly depressing view into how we got to where we are with regards to opioid addiction and abuse. I do feel like the author was quite repetitive at times, and that with a bit of more aggressive editing, the book could be cut down by 15% or so.
That said, I’m very glad I read it.
That said, I’m very glad I read it.
tamarahala's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book as someone who has dealt with heroin addiction first-hand with a family member. I wanted to know more about how this drug spread and became so popular and readily available. This book is incredibly informative and gives an interesting yet depressing history of how opiates and subsequently heroin got so widespread in the United States. It helped to read accounts of other people who are experiencing the same thing my family has gone through and to know we are far from alone.
navyachintaman's review against another edition
3.0
Repetitive and at times hard to follow, but incredibly well-researched and informative.
ironanchor's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
A balanced portrait of the victims and the Mexican traffickers though I couldn't help but come away absolutely pissed off at how hopeful and heartwarming it is that we're treating drug addicts as humans now that it's happening to white people. Not really a fault of the book, though I wish that aspect was more than a footnote.
tnanz's review against another edition
5.0
I went back and forth between a 4 and a 5. Some very good reporting but the writing got quite dry. And some of the ways he talked about obesity and personal responsibility were outdated and offensive.
troyb3's review against another edition
Very interesting and super well researched. Zeroes in on human impacts/players in story. Just a little too dense and in depth
aymitelli's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very eye-opening book. Seeing how much government and big pharma had a hand in ruining so many peoples lives is just astounding, yet not all that surprising. When there is that much money on the line... you have to wonder.
readmollyread's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Informative but redundant.
joseph64daniels's review against another edition
5.0
After they received a call, they would drive to a location where they will sell their product, in this case, heroin, to a buyer as if they were delivering a pizza. This bizarre narrative of how men from a small town in Mexico would bring a corporate like nature to the drug business is merged together with American doctors' decision to prescribe pain medication to their patients without regard, which results in a major heroin epidemic in the United States.
In Dreamland:The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, Sam Quinones tells the story of how and why doctors begin to misuse a case study to make the argument that there is little chance for patients to become addicted to the latest drug, Oxycontin.
What was supposed to be this discovery of this miracle drug to cure pain, results in creating a gateway for people to use heroin. Reading how these two events come together is like witnessing a car crash.
Recently it was reported by CNN that a Southern Californian doctor, Hsiu-Ying "Lisa" Tseng, was convicted of murder in the connection of the death of three of her patients while The New York Times published an op-ed piece regarding the fact that the subject of drug addiction has only now changed after those who are hooked onto heroin are now mostly white people.
Chances are strong that this topic will continue to be reported more in the news media in the days to come. How could did this have happened? This book will tell you how.
In Dreamland:The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, Sam Quinones tells the story of how and why doctors begin to misuse a case study to make the argument that there is little chance for patients to become addicted to the latest drug, Oxycontin.
What was supposed to be this discovery of this miracle drug to cure pain, results in creating a gateway for people to use heroin. Reading how these two events come together is like witnessing a car crash.
Recently it was reported by CNN that a Southern Californian doctor, Hsiu-Ying "Lisa" Tseng, was convicted of murder in the connection of the death of three of her patients while The New York Times published an op-ed piece regarding the fact that the subject of drug addiction has only now changed after those who are hooked onto heroin are now mostly white people.
Chances are strong that this topic will continue to be reported more in the news media in the days to come. How could did this have happened? This book will tell you how.