Dreamland

The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

By: Sam Quinones

Narrated by: Tom Jordan

Bloomsbury presents Dreamland by Sam Quinones, read by Tom Jordan.

Winner of the NBCC Award for General Nonfiction

Named on Slate's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years, Amazon's Best Books of the Year 2015—Michael Botticelli, U.S. Drug Czar (Politico) Favorite Book of the Year—Angus Deaton, Nobel Prize Economics (Bloomberg/WSJ) Best Books of 2015—Matt Bevin, Governor of Kentucky (WSJ) Books of the Year—Slate.com’s 10 Best Books of 2015—Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Books of 2015 —Buzzfeed’s 19 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015—The Daily Beast’s Best Big Idea Books of 2015—Seattle Times’ Best Books of 2015—Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2015—St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Best Books of 2015—The Guardian’s The Best Book We Read All Year—Audible’s Best Books of 2015—Texas Observer’s Five Books We Loved in 2015—Chicago Public Library’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2015

From a small town in Mexico to the boardrooms of Big Pharma to main streets nationwide, an explosive and shocking account of addiction in the heartland of America.

In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.

With a great reporter’s narrative skill and the storytelling ability of a novelist, acclaimed journalist Sam Quinones weaves together two classic tales of capitalism run amok whose unintentional collision has been catastrophic. The unfettered prescribing of pain medications during the 1990s reached its peak in Purdue Pharma’s campaign to market OxyContin, its new, expensive—extremely addictive—miracle painkiller. Meanwhile, a massive influx of black tar heroin—cheap, potent, and originating from one small county on Mexico’s west coast, independent of any drug cartel—assaulted small town and mid-sized cities across the country, driven by a brilliant, almost unbeatable marketing and distribution system. Together these phenomena continue to lay waste to communities from Tennessee to Oregon, Indiana to New Mexico.

Introducing a memorable cast of characters—pharma pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors, and parents—Quinones shows how these tales fit together. Dreamland is a revelatory account of the corrosive threat facing America and its heartland.

©2015 Sam Quinones (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Riveting Must Read! or listened to

Great book. Great narration. Indepth look at a problem that must be understood before it can be solved.
I purchased the Audible then the book, then bought extra copies for others.
I've never done that with any other book.
Now on my third listening on Audible I've gotten involved in my community to help by inviting a lecturer to my neighborhood association meeting.
So many young talented kids have lost their lives. This must end

Thorough and eye opening

Sam is speaking to my hospital group today and I finally read this after it being on my TBR shelf for awhile. I was transported to my childhood in the Inland Empire and this brought understanding to the fear my parents had for me growing up there. Great insight, depth and education from this book. It will highly help me conceptualize the population I serve. Plus, I didn’t realize the author and I graduated from the same high school. That was a bonus fact!

Held My Interest

I didn't realize until I was well into this book that it was actually published in 2015. I was looking for more recent books about the subject, specifically about whether big pharma will ever be held acountable. I have no regrets about purchasing the audiobook as I was hooked from the very beginning when Quinones went into depth about the micro-economy that sprang up from the small-time trafficking of black tar from conservative Mexican towns. Quinones has that rare journalistic talent of providing the reader with "who, what, where, when, how" details and at the same time hold our interest by interweaving personal stories, history and analyses.

There are many excellent reviews of this book on Amazon. I just want to point out that I found the audio version a great listen, finishing it in two days. It's also a good introduction to the "morphine molecule". I'm looking forward to learning more about how opium is different from other addictive drugs.

As a future prescriber of medications

I’ve known about “Dreamland” for a while but had stubbornly pushed it off, believing I was already well-versed in the opioid epidemic through my nearly 20 years as an ER clinician. Humbly, I was wrong, and it took my professor’s encouragement to read it. This book provided a fresh and eye-opening perspective that I hadn’t fully appreciated. It highlights the importance of holistic patient care, the awareness of long-term effects, the predatory tactics drug dealers use to exploit vulnerable populations, and the marketing strategies used by drug companies.

As a future prescriber, “Dreamland” has reinforced the critical lessons about treating patients with comprehensive care and vigilance. It also made me more aware of the systemic issues contributing to the epidemic. The book, combined with my professional experiences and personal roles as a husband, father, and friend, will guide my practice. I am committed to not forgetting these lessons and to continuously educating myself to better serve my patients and community

Gripping

Changed my views on small town America especially how Walmart affected the drug trade. Must read for anyone wanting to understand the landscape of small town, America.

Amazing!

So interesting! Very useful as a student and a receiving addict! Blessed to have the opportunity to read it

In-depth and comprehensive

Detailed and comprehensive discussion of the opioid epidemic from multiple perspectives. Factual versus sensationalized. Debunks many misconceptions regarding source(s) of illegal and legal opioids.

Interesting information !

Learned a lot about history of Opioids Learned that there were many Deaths caused by misinformation !

Stories about people who lived through this dark period makes this account relatable.

Good overall. Focus is on the victims and on the market that was exploited. The story of th Jalisco boys stands in contrast to the violent cartels documented in made for TV miniseries.

This book is.....addictive

From the myriad of interesting characters, to the history, design, and culture of some of the most addictive drugs on the planet, and the people who use and sell them, to the narrator's soothing voice, I was hooked right from the start. This is a great book for those who want to know about opioid history in the US.