Book Review: Busted

While I was in San Francisco I found a book that really interested me. It was called "Rogue State" by William Blum. It was a farely new book, so I didn't figure that I'd be able to find it at a used book store (I however did buy about 7 other books I liked in used stores in the city). I had to go back to the hotel where my parents were to get some money for the book. When I came back to the store I had the book in hand and was ready to buy it when another book caught my eye. The book was called "Busted".
From the first reading of the description on the back and skimming through the insides, I knew I had to read it. I have been looking for a book on drug politics and the drug war for awhile, but gave up pretty much awhile ago. I have read "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal" (by leading Marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal) and "Reefer Madness" (by Eric Schlosser), but no books I had found had seemed to deal with the big picture of drugs... until 'Busted'.
Busted is an amazingly comprehensive view of the drug war from many different views. It is a collection of dozens of articles and essays on the drug war, drug history, drug politics, drug stories, stories from addicts, police, dealers and so on. It is highly leaning to the critical side, but it manages to give many different views on the subject. It must have seemed obvious to the editor, Mike Gray, that there wasn't much need in telling the stories of why we should have a war on drugs and why drugs are bad, because we are constantly exposed to that side of the story every day by the news media. The book does, however, have such things as an article by the nation's drug czar, McCaffery, explaining how Marijuana is not harmless. Which is followed by an article that was written in spite of the lies and propaganda contained in the McCaffery article.
Anybody who wants to further escape the lies of drugs and the war on drugs, or simply learn more about drugs and drug politics in general, should read this very enlightening book that contridicts everything we are told.
A full 10 stars.