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Methland: The Death And Life Of An American Small Town (2009)

by Nick Reding(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1596916508 (ISBN13: 9781596916500)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Bloomsbury USA

review 1: I initially read Nick Reding’s Methland shortly after its publication. I recently revisited the work after reading Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.Reding, a St Louis native with family roots in rural Iowa presents a focused examination of the meth epidemic in rural America. Beginning in 2005 he spent three years in and out of Oelwein Iowa researching the problem. Fittingly he begins Methland in Olewein and returns to it throughout the book. He notes that as he drove about Illinois, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and Missouri researching his book “any town in which I stopped . . . would have satisfied . . . as a setting for a book about meth.”Although not the purpose of the book Methland, much more than The New Jim Crow, offers examples of the deleterious cons... moreequences of the war on drugs. It provides the historical economic and social factors involved in the late 20th century decline of rural communities such as Oelwein. Methland is not an academic book, it is a book of excellent focused reporting. I recommend it highly.
review 2: p.23 The views are stunning, as much for the austere grandeur as for the suffocating sense of desolation.p.114 The move to pseudo(ephedrine) was really the first blockbuster moment in the modern history of the meth epidemic.A wide ranging exploration of the causes and manifestations of Meth abuse. The text conveys a thorough history of the prescription of meth legally intertwines with modern use as an illicit drug. Meth has a varied and interesting history of uses in this country, both legal and illegal. The novel's most impressive features are the connections between economy, politics, and drug use/distribution in America. Tracing the vast and varied history of the reach of meth users and makers presents a wild scene. The author establishes links which uncover the political dealings and drug organizations which exploited the political and economic opportunities. The superlabs making meth upon an industrial scale is one of the most well researched aspects of the text. Another important feature of the novel is that Mr. Reding presents people from all levels of the meth network: users, dealers, cops, lawyers, and families. In conjunction with the depth of research, the variety of stories which are relayed related to meth present a well-rounded portrait of a drug which continues to plague America. less

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