From the monthly archives:

August 2004

Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser

Saturday, August 7, 2004

Reefer MadnessI am apparently in a reading frenzy these days. I just knocked off Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser. The book is not all about marijuana, although it would certainly be compelling enough if it was only concerned with that one topic. Instead it’s three essays on the economic monster that is the Black Market in America. The first is on the “drug war”, the second is on migrant workers in California, and the third is about the porn industry. All three are deliciously intriguing and certainly more than enough to convince even the most apathetic reader to actually do something as maniacal as vote.

Schlosser also wrote Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, which was just incredible. I read that one in one sitting. It’s frighteningly enlightening.

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The Devil in the White City

Thursday, August 5, 2004

The Devil in the White CityI forgot to mention that I also recently read The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. This was an excellent read. It’s a true story about the Chicago World’s Fair and … uhm … a serial killer. I really don’t want to give away too much of the tale, but if you’re simultaneously into turn-of-the-century Americana, architecture, sociopaths, and forensics, you’ll really dig this one. The writing is brilliant and the author did some serious research. I was very much impressed to learn how much of my life has been influenced by the characters in the story.

Note: This one took me about a month and a half to read because — for some reason — I kept misplacing it. I was working pretty much non-stop at the office, so I didn’t have much free time.

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