American Taboos in Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser Essay

Reefer MadnessWhether we realize it or not, the grips of Americas vast black market is far reaching and affects us all deeply Whether or not we roll up a joint, watch pornographic videos, or buy strawberries at the supermarket. By conduction a close examination three taboo American cornerstones in Reefer Madness pot, porn, and illegal immigrants Eric Schlosser shows how the black market has burgeoned over the past several decades. By drawing compelling parallels between the convert and overt, Schlosser is able to illustrate how tycoons and gangsters rise and fall, how new technology shapes a market, how government intervention can reinvigorate black markets as well as mainstream ones, and how big business learns and profits from the underground. Reefer Madness is a powerful investigation that not only effectively exposes illuminates the shadow economy and the culture that casts that shadow but also provokes thought that brings thinking to an elevated level. Schlosser avoids the clich of the malefic nature of the black market and focuses instead of the larger idea, while at the same time conveying age old details in a new light essential to understanding the complex topic. Without a doubt, his acclaimed title is a worthy entry into the ranks of the prestigious non-fiction canon. For a book to be ranked among the canon, it must achieve unusual qualities that distinguish it from the norm and hoist it upon the high seat of the canon. A title considered to be canon is hailed as a literary standard that others strive to match. Diamonds acclaimed book has already received considerable praise from critics. "Let us now praise Eric Schlosser'sReefer Madness. . . What's remarkable here is the nuanced, statistically sturdy case he builds along the way. Schlosser doesn't rant, doesn't sloganeer . . . It's journalism in the great muckraking tradition of Carey McWilliams, whose motto might have been Don't get angry get the reader angry...