Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire

This is a well written story, although sometimes a little too detailed. Several times, the author described women as "pudgy" or unattractive for no apparent reason. The subject of this book is completely devoid of any moral character. At times, that made it difficult for me to read. I almost stopped a couple of times and skipped through some parts because of the redundancy of examples of this man's complete lack of empathy or decency. The lack of remorse demonstrated by the subject and his wife was stunning.

Interesting. Rather typical B-plus newspaper or rag reporter copywriting by Mr. Bowden. Knows a lot And obviously spent a lot of time with Larry The Pusher. Fails in his attempt to at the same time make Larry seem like a swell fellow - generous, forgiving, family man. I grew tired of the apologia about the same time with the confusing story line.

I wondered how Bowden got so much detail, and it appears Lavin himself provided. At times the detail and extended conversations make the narrative move slowly, but overall it held the story together and made this guy a real-life character. It is hard to believe such a nice guy would be able to survive the dealers' world, but he did and thrived.

The story is fascinating and impeccably researched. It mainly takes place in the 1980s but remains a great read today. I have read quite of few of Bowden's books and you know what you are going to get. He writes like the journalist that he is. The writing is straightforward but absolutely filled with detail. For me, sometimes too detailed. I sometimes found myself skimming over the minutia.Overall it remains a fascinating story about a glib & charismatic young man who builds a drug distribution empire through a combination of guile, luck, hard work and, naivety.

Story about a go getter who in college was moving volumes of pot and then moved on to coke, during college, dental school and while a working professional. Interesting story and kind of sad as he was so in love with the idea of easy money and running a drug enterprise he threw what could have been a good life away. Pretty good book, worth a summer read.

Larry Lavin seemingly had it all in the 9-to-5 world; an Ivy League education that led to a growing dental practice, a wife and children living in a tony neighborhood of old money and a business savvy that couldn't be learned in graduate school.But Lavin had a second career that powered his life. What started as dealing marijuana on his college campus ended up as one of the biggest cocaine rings on the East Coast that - at its pinnacle - was generating $60 million in annual sales.Mark Bowden leads the reader through every stage of Lavin's life, which came crashing down when law-enforcement officials began to piece together his multi-layered cocaine business. As the dealing branched out, Lavin attempted to launder drug money through legitimate businesses. It leads to Lavin trusting an investor who is running his own set of illegal games, and ultimately helps destroy the drug empire.Lavin is certainly not alone in the enterprise and Bowden does an excellent job in bringing each of the individuals to life. You get the feeling as if you are there, privy to insider's information while running fast and hard.But there are questions that the reader is left to answer. Right and wrong may not necessarily be so obvious.Law enforcement officials attempt to frighten suspects to quickly sign documents that give away certain rights before any formal charges are filed. People who have nothing to do with the case are harassed by law enforcement simply because they may have fleeting knowledge of a suspect.During a court appearance, Lavin wonders about the lives of many in the audience who are in their 20's and 30's; he is sure that more than a few gawking at him are users and dealers.And as a crucial component to the closing chapters, Lavin questions how he is hurting anyone since people are seeking him out to score the drug, not vice versa. Cocaine in the 1970s and early 1980s was the drug of choice for the "beautiful people."Bowden does a masterful job in making this oftentimes difficult story a classic in crime reporting.

I could not stop reading this story. It is unfathomable to me the ends to which this guy went to manage a multi million drug business all the while he was in dental school. I found Larry Lavins FB profile while I was reading this story. It gave a bit away but honestly, this guy could not help himself.

It was rather tedious that way. Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo were much better. Yeah, there was some fawning detail. Then again it did not impair the narrative!!

if you enjoy crime books then definately buy it.Be warned though, this isn't a sort of violent crime type book. The main subjects are middle-class 'yuppies' after all. Certainly interesting but if you are wanting something violent then look elsewheregreat book...that is all

great read if you're into true crime. Very engaging and a very gritty tale. Love it!

Very good

I really liked this story but found some of the characters' descriptions a little drawn out. However it does grant a real insight into the drug trade and drug addiction.

I also read Killing Pablo and I can say that Bowden's writing is consistently detailed and entertaining. At times the detail about the scenes may seem tedious but his descriptions of the mindsets of the characters is amazing and draws an excellent image of their personalities and their predicaments. Didnt give a 5 because I didnt like way the book started, i purposesly held off googling the main character before I read the book and so I found at times that I could see where the story was going. That wont apply to everyone because Im sure many must have heard about Larry beforehand.