Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Three Essays, One Book, Ruben Sturman
Eric Schlosser returns in his second published expose' on three different underground economic topics, each an essay originally released in Rolling Stone Magazine. The three essays on marijuana, illegal immigrant workers, and pornography constitute this opus on America's underground economy which accounts for what Schlosser and others believe is 10 percent of the whole American economy constitute "Reefer Madness."While not nearly as in depth as his first book "Fast Food Nation," Schlosser does more muckraking on topics that not only interest readers who know little about these underground economies, but can also keep the readers attention with experiences and biographies of participants in the underground economies. I truly think that Schlosser went far more in depth to exhume scarce facts in "Fast Food Nation," while only briefly over-viewing these three topics in "Reefer Madness." To get to the point... it would have been better if "Reefer Madness" was Schlosser's first work instead of "Fast Food Nation - He obviously set the standard for himself too high with his first work. Schlosser does an excellent job not only presenting these three essays, one leading into the other through prose vignette, but offers a preface of ideas to help set up the reader before the presentation of the three essays. Referencing points from Adam Smith's "On the Wealth of Nations" for the current reigning market system, Schlosser sees what many others refuse to see... Everyone has his or her vice and there is money to be made from this market! Schlosser finishes "Reefer Madness" with personal points of view and his own ideas on these three portions of the underground American economy and how things about them can be progressively dealt with, and even legalized!?!?! Eric Schlosser is currently working on another investigative report unfolding the secrets of the American prison system - I am not sure when this work will be released.
Rating:  - Entertaining but slightly disappointing
"Reefer Madness" is an uneven examination of the American underground economy. Mr. Schlosser does not attempt a comprehensive examination -- notably absent are software piracy, music downloading, prostitution, offshore banking and gambling --but appears instead to have selected three topics that, presumably, might help sell copies for his publisher. (Such are the perils, apparently, of having to follow up the classic "Fast Food Nation".) The first section is dedicated to illegal drugs. Mr. Schlosser does a very good job savaging the contradictions of legal and illegal drug policies in this country. In only 64 pages, the author provides background, statistics and case studies that make for very compelling reading. His conclusions are consistent with what most reformers have been arguing for some time. The draconian laws and failed policies of the so-called 'War on Drugs' are so out of step with mainstream American thought and practice that Mr. Schlosser's sly rewrite of a John Lennon anthem resonates with power: "this war is over, if you want it." This devastating critique was my favorite of the three essays, by far. The second section on illegal labor is a scant 34 pages long. It is focused on the plight of strawberry pickers in California. Mr. Schlosser's keen powers of observation and solid research methodology combine to produce a scathing critique of the inhumane conditions that many migrant farmworkers endure. But by focusing on such a thin slice of the American labor market, it may be difficult to judge the validity of the author's generalized recommendations about rectifying labor abuses nationwide. Personally, I was disappointed that the third section on the porn industry was as lengthy as the other two combined. The story was mostly a history lesson and biography centered around Reuben Sturman, who the author shows was primarily responsible for growing the porn industry through most of the post World War II era and who tirelessly defended it against its enemies. But while Mr. Schlosser's article makes it clear that porn was officially repressed for many years in the U.S., today that no longer seems to be the case. Consequently it doesn't seem to provide much support for the author's theme of the contemporary state of the underground economy, although the story was certainly interesting and extremely well-written. In the end, one wishes that Mr. Schlosser had been able to fully develop these stories into three separate books. The stature that the author has gained as a result of "Fast Food Nation" guarantees that his views have power, but I'm afraid that diluting the subject matter probably takes away some of the punch. That's too bad, because in my view the drug laws and the labor laws, in particular, badly need reform. Here's hoping that Mr. Schlosser's publisher gives this talented writer the opportunity to produce another gem on par with "Fast Food Nation" the next time around. But in the meantime, Mr. Schlosser's fans can get a quick fix by reading this entertaining but slighly disappointing book.
Rating: - Three Articles, Lightweight Sequel to Fast Food Nation
Although the author is gifted, this is a very light-weight sequel to Fast Foot Nation and the author's next book on prisons is therefore already suspect. This could have been a great book--indeed it could have been three great books--but in the rush to publish a second book in order to profit from the justifiable applause for his first one, the editor and publisher and author have all failed.
There are three articles here: the first is about the inconsistencies of the drug versus the murder laws, the number of people in jail for marijuana, and the social implications of all this; the second is on the underground economy of illegal workers and profiteering abusive corporations (McDonald's is especially evil in this depiction); and the third is about pornography but with a twist, focusing on how hotels and other major corporations are profiting. The books ends with a very short but thoughtful observation regarding the need to change the law and punishment so as to back away from life-ending punishments for individual behavior that is merely self-destructive or distastement, and focus the heaviest punishments on those who commit economic crimes against society and entire sub-sections of society. In each of these three cases, there are other books that are better--Deep Cover by Michael Levine on the futility of drug enforcement and the corruption of Drug Enforcement Agency "suits"; Forbidden Knowledge by Roger Shattuck, on pornography among other things; and The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald, on the sweetheart triangle between national-level white collar corporate criminals, big law firms, and a compliant Department of Justice that lets the richest bad guys off easy. I would caution the author to not do this again--the next book had better be as good as Fast Food Nation, or he will fall into the second rank of serial writers rather than culture-changing authors, where he deserves to stay. I would also encourage anyone considering buying this book to do so--it does have useful information--but more importantly, if you have not read Fast Food Nation, go to that page and think seriously about buying and reading it now--as McDonald's gets blamed overseas for being the epidemy of all that is hateful to Islamics, as Kraft Food pays lip service to healthy food in its realization that Oreo cookies are killing kids, what Eric Schlosser did in Fast Food Nation is being appreciated more and more each day--with that book, he did indeed change national consciousness, an achievement that will stand in history as a turning point in creating a healthier America.
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