New York Times Bestseller: The shadowy world of "off the books" businesses—from marijuana to migrant workers—brought to life by the author of Fast Food Nation. America's black market is much larger than we realize, and it affects us all deeply, whether or not we smoke pot, rent a risqué video, or pay our kids' nannies in cash. In Reefer Madness, the award-winning investigative journalist Eric Schlosser turns his exacting eye to the underbelly of American capitalism and its far-reaching influence on our society. Exposing three American mainstays—pot, porn, and illegal immigrants—Schlosser shows how the black market has burgeoned over the past several decades. He also draws compelling parallels between underground and overground: 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. "Captivating . . . Compelling tales of crime and punishment as well as an illuminating glimpse at the inner workings of the underground economy. The book revolves around two figures: Mark Young of Indiana, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his relatively minor role in a marijuana deal; and Reuben Sturman, an enigmatic Ohio man who built and controlled a formidable pornography distribution empire before finally being convicted of tax evasion. . . . Schlosser unravels an American society that has 'become alienated and at odds with itself.' Like Fast Food Nation, this is an eye-opening book, offering the same high level of reporting and research." — Publishers Weekly

エリック・シュローサーは、社会の裂け目に潜む人間の真実を冷徹に描き出す名手です。本作はマリファナやポルノを軸に、アメリカ資本主義の歪んだ肖像を浮き彫りにします。不条理な法に翻弄される個人の運命は、読者の倫理観を揺さぶる文学的な深みを備えています。 終身刑の男とポルノ王の対照的な軌跡は、国家が何を罰し何を黙認するのかという根源的な問いを突きつけます。冷徹な調査と生々しいドラマが交錯する筆致は圧巻。日常のすぐ隣で脈打つ闇の経済を体感させる、これ以上ないほど衝撃的な一冊です。