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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Important, well-researched, and well-written book weaving together the history, sociology, and politics of the crack epidemic with the stories of several people caught up in it.

Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year. Such an interesting examination of the crack/cocaine era of the 1980‘s. I remember growing up during the whole Say No to Drugs program in school. Now as an adult to go back & read about how messed up the policies were (police, drug enforcement, prisons, Iran-Contra Affair). Reflecting now & realizing how so many of these (bad) policies continue to affect so many communities to this day.

This was very interesting and informative. Even though this is very far removed from my lived experience, it is relevant, recent U.S. history that has had an influence on our culture, laws, policing, and more.

Some of my favorite non-fiction from this year. When Crack was King definitely hit the top of the list!

This book looks at how crack came to be, then how it came to be popular, as well as the racist governmental response to it. It weaves in the stories of 4 people impacted by crack in different ways. Really good information, but frankly I found my attention straying. A low pick for me.

NBA longlist, nonfiction

I started this book because the author is a fellow Ohio native, and it was so good. Giving voices to a generation/race of people who were misunderstood and unjustly labeled.

An extraordinary look at the crack epidemic. Ramsey writes about its toll through the eyes of three people deeply affected by it. Their stories were the heart of this book, but he also looks at global, national, and local political forces that mostly harmed and rarely helped people and communities mired in the epidemic. Highly recommend!

Fantastic must-read book if you want to better understand the crack epidemic/War on Drugs - something I thought I understood pretty well, but I still learned a ton from this. Very well-written, and the inclusion of stories of people who experienced the epidemic firsthand made this truly special and incredibly impactful. (Even the acknowledgments were moving!)