Nicholas McCane
Just like millions of other African Americans in this country, crack cocaine devastated my family. In Chicago, in 1980, I was born into a large, beautiful family. I remember being surrounded by love. Then, suddenly, most of the adults in my family (including my parents) turned into zombies. At 8 or 9 years old, we went from children straight into adulthood. It was like something out of a movie. Our own apocalypse. That story is not being told. Crack destroyed everything. It turned us kids into monsters. We were abused by adults, beat up by law enforcement, ignored by teachers, exploited by the government (even called super predators), repeatedly falsely arrested, kicked out of school, treated as stupid, starved by the system, and many other things.
I had already read “The Cook Up” by D. Watkins and “Buck” by M.K. Asante. So, when I heard about this book, I was ready. “When Crack was King” follows four individuals. The son of a crack addicted father, a female crack addict/sex worker, a former mayor of Baltimore, and a community activist who used to be a drug trafficker. Sounds interesting, right?
What I loved about the book:
It’s a history book, so you’ll find out everything you ever wanted to know about the drug itself, the government’s involvement, cover-ups, statistics, etc. It’s a brilliant book to have if you are looking for a reference book.
What I didn’t enjoy so much:
The stories of the four individuals mentioned above are told by the author. I wanted so badly for the stories to be told by the individuals who experienced them. You may think, well Nick, it’s the same story. Maybe so, but I believe my story can only be told by me so.
This book feels like the author wrote it for people knowing little or nothing about the crack epidemic. I’m looking for a book written for/by someone who lived it. Stories from the dope man and/or the addict. I appreciate the author for telling this story, but I need the needy, greedy. Not the washed down version. I’m given this book four stars. It accomplished what it said it would do.
Just like millions of other African Americans in this country, crack cocaine devastated my family. In Chicago, in 1980, I was born into a large, beautiful family. I remember being surrounded by love. Then, suddenly, most of the adults in my family (including my parents) turned into zombies. At 8 or 9 years old, we went from children straight into adulthood. It was like something out of a movie. Our own apocalypse. That story is not being told. Crack destroyed everything. It turned us kids into monsters. We were abused by adults, beat up by law enforcement, ignored by teachers, exploited by the government (even called super predators), repeatedly falsely arrested, kicked out of school, treated as stupid, starved by the system, and many other things.
I had already read “The Cook Up” by D. Watkins and “Buck” by M.K. Asante. So, when I heard about this book, I was ready. “When Crack was King” follows four individuals. The son of a crack addicted father, a female crack addict/sex worker, a former mayor of Baltimore, and a community activist who used to be a drug trafficker. Sounds interesting, right?
What I loved about the book:
It’s a history book, so you’ll find out everything you ever wanted to know about the drug itself, the government’s involvement, cover-ups, statistics, etc. It’s a brilliant book to have if you are looking for a reference book.
What I didn’t enjoy so much:
The stories of the four individuals mentioned above are told by the author. I wanted so badly for the stories to be told by the individuals who experienced them. You may think, well Nick, it’s the same story. Maybe so, but I believe my story can only be told by me so.
This book feels like the author wrote it for people knowing little or nothing about the crack epidemic. I’m looking for a book written for/by someone who lived it. Stories from the dope man and/or the addict. I appreciate the author for telling this story, but I need the needy, greedy. Not the washed down version. I’m given this book four stars. It accomplished what it said it would do.