Smack: Heroin and the American City (Politics and Culture in Modern America)

The book is very informative about drugs in the American city.

Useful information, not an overwhelmingly beautiful prose style. I can't remember if I finished it or not.

Received on time for my class.Enjoyed it somewhatNeeded it for school

Schneider's book combines a wealth of insights into the history of drug use with a thoughtful analysis of its uniquely "urban" quality. I recommend this book for anyone interested in 20th (or 21st) century urban history.

Excellent research. This is basically an academic book but partly by virtue of the title but also through the author's engaging style, is enjoyable for the non-specialist. From jazz clubs in New York to San Francisco's Chinatown, Schneider emphasises the importance of the milieu. More widely, he is interested in how heroin addiction is 'inscribed' in, and by, city locations. Corner stores, methadone clinics, street corners, particular addresses are all relevant, as are cities themselves; New York, with it's French connections and mafia history, being the capital of the heroin industry.Generally speaking the author eschews an emotive tone and opts instead for trying to link political economy, geography, and cultural history together with the accounts of (former)addicts themselves. Of particular interest is the way heroin was consumed by different groups at different times.Readable urban history with some true crime thrown in.