Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
Chasing The Scream by Johann Hari. This is an overview, written somewhat novelistically, of the Drug War. If you always thought there was something not quite right about national or international drug policy, this will reveal the reasons for that intuitive unease. We have been "fighting" this war for over a century now and all that has happened is that it has gotten worse---bigger, more expensive, insanely destructive. Hari went on a three-year journey to track down answers and came up with some amazing revelations. We have an insane drug policy.
This isn't all just one-sided, though---Hari has the same fears most people do and he examines those as well. This is not prescriptive other than that we need to stop doing things the way we have been, because all the evidence suggests it does not work. You may find your sensibilities and prejudices thoroughly shaken up by this book. -Mark's July Staff Pick, 2015
Chasing The Scream by Johann Hari. This is an overview, written somewhat novelistically, of the Drug War. If you always thought there was something not quite right about national or international drug policy, this will reveal the reasons for that intuitive unease. We have been "fighting" this war for over a century now and all that has happened is that it has gotten worse---bigger, more expensive, insanely destructive. Hari went on a three-year journey to track down answers and came up with some amazing revelations. We have an insane drug policy.
This isn't all just one-sided, though---Hari has the same fears most people do and he examines those as well. This is not prescriptive other than that we need to stop doing things the way we have been, because all the evidence suggests it does not work. You may find your sensibilities and prejudices thoroughly shaken up by this book. -Mark's July Staff Pick, 2015
The New York Times Bestseller
What if everything you think you know about addiction is wrong? Johann Hari's journey into the heart of the war on drugs led him to ask this question--and to write the book that gave rise to his viral TED talk, viewed more than 62 million times, and inspired the feature film The United States vs. Billie Holiday and the documentary series The Fix.
One of Johann Hari's earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction--and what really solves it.
He uncovered a range of remarkable human stories--of how the war on drugs began with Billie Holiday, the great jazz singer, being stalked and killed by a racist policeman; of the scientist who discovered the surprising key to addiction; and of the countries that ended their own war on drugs--with extraordinary results.
Chasing the Scream is the story of a life-changing journey that transformed the addiction debate internationally--and showed the world that the opposite of addiction is connection.
“Superb journalism and thrilling story-telling.” —Naomi Klein
“An absolutely stunning book.” —Elton John
“A terrific book.” —Bill Maher
“A wonderful book . . . I hope everyone will read it.” —Sam Harris
“Wonderful . . . I couldn't put it down.” —Noam Chomsky
“Amazing and bracing and smart. It's really revolutionary.” —Dan Savage
“One of the world's most important and most enlightening thinkers and social critics.” —Glenn Greenwald, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
“Incredibly insightful and provocative.” —B.J. Novak, creator of THE OFFICE
“A testament to Hari's skill as a writer.” —The New York Times