Rating: 
Summary: great book overall
Review: this was a very informative and interesting book to read. i enjoyed it a lot. the only thing i didnt like was the "cheap labor" section, mainly b/c that is just not something i am interested in. but, that is a very small portion of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad read, but not that informative
Review: Sex, Drugs and Illegal Immigrants. With topics like that, there is no way the book could be dull, right? Well. . . Schlosser did it, at least in parts of this collection of three essays.There is very little in here that you won't come across somewhere else. He spends a lot of time talking about the crazy sentencing guidelines we have for Marijuana crimes, which is important and interesting, but not new. Similarly, the plight of illegal immigrants in California and porn purveyors has been done. That said, Schlosser does not how to tell a good story. He can get you pretty fired up about the injustice of it all, particularly with the Marijuana prison sentences for small time criminals. A more serious complaint is that Schlosser doesn't give much thought to the other side of the issue. You might not like the drug laws, but at least acknowledge why the issue is difficult. Overall, not a bad read for, say, an airplane, but you might be better served picking up an Atlantic Monthly.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Topics-Second-rate book
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: so so book
Review: The story is basically about the American Black Market. The things that he is very strong on are marijuana, cheap labor that is done by immigrants, and pornography. He also talks about the major role marijuana has taken in the American Society. He also said that The American policy has done far from harm than good. The main thing that I was able to get from the chapter about drugs was that he wants to keep the drug education honest and present. He also refuses to propose a long-term goal of fully legalizing marijuana, essentially meaning that the drug would remain in an underground economy.
One other subject that he touches on is cheap labor that is mostly done by immigrants. I think he made a strong point when he said that employers have to be the ones that re responsible for their hiring practices. An example that he had was the strawberry fields in California and how they were using immigrants to do the cheap labor. In conclusion I though that this book was okay but not really what I was expecting because there were parts where it was kind of boring. I mean I heard a lot of good things about his other books but in this book it wasn't what I was expecting sorry to say.
Rating:
Summary: Reefer Madness
Review: Not as good as Fast Food Nation, but still an eye-opener. I wish there had been more of a wide-range of information. As other viewers stated, his focus was too narrow, even within the three sections. The porn section, being longer, was more interesting. And, the book is full of startling facts and statistics. However, I would have appreciated more discussion/analysis to go along with it all.
Rating:
Summary: comprehensive, analytical.....but not well organized
Review: The premise of the book is simple - the impact of black market in three different fields - drug (specifically pot), porn, and illegal immigrants is much more than acknowledged...but the organization of the book doesn't live up to the reputation of the author. Both books by the author, undoubtedly deserves critical acclaim and serious attention. However, the current book pales in comparison with the well-organized, single-themed Fast Food Nation. Nevertheless, the book does raise interesting questions in an apolitical way and each of the three disparate segments in the book is a great "essay" in itself. Each of the segments uses a slightly different narrative style ranging from reporting to some character profiling, all interspersed with some stark observations and interesting questions. For any of the three problems highlighted in the book, the author doesn't offer any analysis on what needs to be done to alleviate any of the issues raised. That drawback diminishes the value of the arguments to a small extent. Apart from the above minor complaint and the lack of a common thread connecting the three topics, the book is an excellent read and is highly recommended for any serious reader.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Work By Schlosser
Review: With Reefer Madness, Eric Schlosser provides us with another extraordinary piece of reporting. This work is well documented (a large number of pages are deveoted to notes and references) and is a compelling, hard to put down read. Perhaps the most important theme that unifies the three essays in this book is how the US Government manipulates the moral and legal arguments for or against an issue (legalizing marijuana or cheap farm labor, for example) in order to meet its needs or agenda. An eye opening look at three underground industries and at our own dishonest policymakers.
Rating:
Summary: A Mild Disapointment Compared To Author's Previous Book
Review: Eric Schlosser's latest book Reefer Madness is a bit of a disappointment after his very good and very popular Fast Food Nation. Schlosser's investigative acumen is on display in this book, but what he ends up producing are three long essays that could stand alone as books in and of themselves. I think that the choice of Reefer Madness for a title was a bad decision. The notoriety Schlosser gained from Fast Food Nation could have sold the book without the rip off title. I think the long "An Empire Of The Obscene" essay about Reuben Sturman's porn empire, which totals 100 pages, would have made for a better title and focus for the book. The porn business is an interesting study in and of itself and Schlosser should have gotten his publisher to make it into a separate book. Those reservations aside, I think the book is a worth a look for somebody looking for good investigative journalism to read. Reefer Madness is a business book that focuses on three separate sectors of the black market economy: Marijuana consumption, migrant labor in the strawberry fields of California and porn. "Reefer Madness" deals with the persecution of the users of by far and away the most popular drug in the U.S.: Marijuana. Originally smoked by poor blacks and Mexicans in the early 20th century, marijuana has become the most popular drug in the country. Schlosser traces the interesting case of Indiana biker Mark Young, who was originally sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole for his involvement in a marijuana delivery. It was Young's first marijuana offense. He's wasn't even the grower or major dealer in the transaction he was involved in, but he refused to play the role of a snitch for the prosecution in his case and received the ultimate punishment for his "crime." Young's sentence was later reduced. Young remains an unrepentant pot smoker to this day. "In The Strawberry Fields" Schlosser deals with the misfortune of the nation's poorest workforce: The migrant laborers in California's strawberry's fields. Schlosser focuses on the heart of the Strawberry business in Watsonville and the failed mid-90's campaign by the AFL-CIO to organize the fields in the area. The market in migrant labor is a very important study because of the profound effect it has on bringing wages down in the overall economy, thus helping fuel the black market, as people fed up with declining wages look to find ways to make money off the books. The '70s was a time when it appeared that the United Farm Workers were going to finally organize most of the migrant work force. However, like with the rest of organized labor, whatever hopes the UFW had of organizing the fields has been dashed by the aggressive union busting of growers. Schlosser notes that while tax payer cash is lavished onto the largest corporations on a daily basis, the one sector of the economy where the "free market" has been most ruthlessly applied has been with labor. Observing the burgeoning shanty towns that have sprouted up throughout much of California to house this exploited labor force Schlosser writes, "The market will drive wages down like water, until they reach the lowest possible level. Today that level is being set not in Washington or New York or Sacramento but in the fields of Baja California and the mountain villages of Oaxaca. That level is about five dollars a day. No deity that men have ever worshipped is more ruthless and more hollow than the free market unchecked; there is no reason why shantytowns should not appear on the outskirts of every American city. All those who now consider themselves devotees of the market should take a good look at what is happening in California. Left to its own devices, the free market always seeks a work force that is hungry, desperate, and cheap - a work force that is anything but free." "An Empire Of The Obscene" traces the rise and fall of the real "King of Porn." It wasn't porn start John Holmes, but an obscure, rarely photographed, Cleveland based businessman named Rueben Sturman. Sturman was able to fend off all federal charges of peddling in "obscenity," but in the end he was brought down, like Al Capone before him, by tax evasion charges. I hadn't even heard of Sturman before reading Schlosser's book. Porn, like with marijuana, is one of those products which Americans publicly abhor, privately adore and consume in astonishingly high amounts. Schlosser points out that the porn business has been at the cutting edge of exploiting technology to increase its size. From the VHS video tape to cable to the Internet, technology has brought porn from red light district store fronts and theaters into the homes of millions of eager porn consumers. Today, heavy handed prosecutions of the porn business are less likely, and less likely to have much of an effect on the business, than ever now the that ranks of the largest distributors of porn include major cable providers, not anti-government counter culture types like Sturman. Schlosser reviews the economics of the economic underground. Nobody knows just how large it really is, but it could be ten percent or more of the overall U.S. economy. The reasons for the sharp rise of the black market starting in the '60s and '70s are manifold. Declining wages, regressive taxation and government regulation are all factors in this. The hippie counter culture of the '60s and the anti-tax movements of the '70s have all played a role in shaping the anti-government attitudes that have fueled the black market boom. What it all reveals is the huge chasm between what the government tells us is "bad" for us and should be banned and what we actually do consume in private. As Schlosser said in his May 19 Working Assets Radio interview, "Maybe some of these things aren't so bad afterall."
Rating: 
Summary: disappoint in book from author of Fast Food Nation
Review: I had read Eric Schlosser earlier book, Fast Food Nation -
a book that made an impression on me -
this book, by contrast, is a major disappointment.
It was far too one sided - if I had handed this same text in as part of a term paper in High School my teacher would have returned it to me and said something along the lines of "this is not acceptable". Mr. Schlosser appears to have reached a conclusion and thereafter only includes information that directly supports that conclusion. Ironically I would have to say I likely agree with most of the author's claims - I simply would take a more balanced and comprehensive view of the issues. That the author did not present a more balanced book is rather unfortunate - the issue of low cost or cheap labor is important enough to warrant more thought than the author bothered to put forth. Having leveled that criticism I would not say the book is not worth the cover price. It was and I would recommend the book to anyone who would also have the opportunity to read other books on the subjects as well. I would also take a chance and purchase a future book by the author.
Rating:
Summary: Whoa, son.
Review: Although this book is very informational and easily opens the eyes of someone as well-sheltered (and once conservative) as I, its constant use of statistics left me confused and sometimes sleepy. Schlosser cites many examples and gives anecdotes regarding the three issues the book covers, namely marijuana, migrant labor, and pornography. To say, however, that the book covers these things, is a falsehood. It is merely a skimming of the facts, void of emotion and opinion, and this makes the book very hard to follow. True enough, it would be great for a paper or report because of its factualness, but for everyday reading, it sure didn't do much for me.
Holding the three separate essays together is the underlying theme that Americans have a private integrity which is not consistent with their public integrity, and this is very true. Without this point, I don't know that the book's three tiers would be able to connect. The first two, marijuana and migrant labor, easily flow together because of their agricultural base. In addition, they have a strong documentation base because of the laws around them and Schlosser goes into some interesting details about the process of manufacturing the products. The third aspect of the book is weak because it's not illegal (now, at least), though the fact that it is probably considered "underground" makes it interesting, and who doesn't love reading about porn, right?
I suppose Schlosser should receive a big "E" for effort. Attempting to tackle three large subjects is honorable, but he perhaps should've been less ambitious and more interested in thoroughly researching one topic. Would've been easier to write three books that way.
|
