Listen free for 30 days
-
Chasing the Scream
- The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £27.49
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Lost Connections
- Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety. What really causes depression and anxiety - and how can we really solve them?
-
-
Journalist explores his own psychological pain
- By Amazon Customer on 07-05-19
-
Stolen Focus
- Why You Can't Pay Attention
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back? For Stolen Focus, internationally best-selling author Johann Hari went on a three-year journey to uncover the reasons why our teenagers now focus on one task for only 65 seconds, and why office workers on average manage only three minutes. He interviewed the leading experts in the world on attention and learned that everything we think about this subject is wrong.
-
-
No substance and not much style
- By the typist on 17-01-22
-
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
- Close Encounters with Addiction
- By: Dr Gabor Maté
- Narrated by: Daniel Maté
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr Gabor Maté is one of the world’s most revered thinkers on the psychology of addiction. His radical findings - based on decades of work with patients challenged by catastrophic drug addiction and mental illness - are reframing how we view all human development. In this award-winning modern classic, Gabor Maté takes a holistic and compassionate approach to addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, sex, money or anything self-destructive. He presents it not as a discrete phenomenon confined to a weak-willed few but as a continuum that runs through (and even underpins) our society.
-
-
Hung on every word
- By Mrs. I Fox on 08-07-19
-
The World for Sale
- Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
- By: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.
-
-
Excellent piece of business journalism
- By KdL on 17-11-21
-
One Hundred Years of Dirt
- By: Rick Morton
- Narrated by: Rick Morton
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Social mobility is not a train you get to board after you've scraped together enough for the ticket. You have to build the whole bloody engine, with nothing but a spoon and hand-me-down psychological distress. Violence, treachery and cruelty run through the generational veins of Rick Morton's family. A horrific accident thrusts his mother and siblings into a world impossible for them to navigate, a life of poverty and drug addiction.
-
-
Remarkable excavation of a harsh landscape
- By KMV on 03-08-20
-
The Ballad of Danny Wolfe
- Life of a Modern Outlaw
- By: Joe Friesen
- Narrated by: Joe Friesen
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2008, Daniel Richard Wolfe was awaiting trial on two counts of first-degree murder at the Regina Correctional Centre. This wasn't his first time in jail; from his teenage years his life had been marked by stints in and out of prison - with Danny sometimes finding his own way out. This time around, he was orchestrating his boldest move yet: a carefully plotted escape that would send the RCMP on a nationwide manhunt, launching Danny Wolfe to headline-topping notoriety.
-
Lost Connections
- Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety. What really causes depression and anxiety - and how can we really solve them?
-
-
Journalist explores his own psychological pain
- By Amazon Customer on 07-05-19
-
Stolen Focus
- Why You Can't Pay Attention
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why have we lost our ability to focus? What are the causes? And, most importantly, how do we get it back? For Stolen Focus, internationally best-selling author Johann Hari went on a three-year journey to uncover the reasons why our teenagers now focus on one task for only 65 seconds, and why office workers on average manage only three minutes. He interviewed the leading experts in the world on attention and learned that everything we think about this subject is wrong.
-
-
No substance and not much style
- By the typist on 17-01-22
-
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
- Close Encounters with Addiction
- By: Dr Gabor Maté
- Narrated by: Daniel Maté
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr Gabor Maté is one of the world’s most revered thinkers on the psychology of addiction. His radical findings - based on decades of work with patients challenged by catastrophic drug addiction and mental illness - are reframing how we view all human development. In this award-winning modern classic, Gabor Maté takes a holistic and compassionate approach to addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, sex, money or anything self-destructive. He presents it not as a discrete phenomenon confined to a weak-willed few but as a continuum that runs through (and even underpins) our society.
-
-
Hung on every word
- By Mrs. I Fox on 08-07-19
-
The World for Sale
- Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
- By: Javier Blas, Jack Farchy
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World for Sale, two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinised corners of the economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard and sell the earth's resources. It is the story of how a handful of swashbuckling businessmen became indispensable cogs in global markets: enabling an enormous expansion in international trade and connecting resource-rich countries - no matter how corrupt or war-torn - with the world's financial centres.
-
-
Excellent piece of business journalism
- By KdL on 17-11-21
-
One Hundred Years of Dirt
- By: Rick Morton
- Narrated by: Rick Morton
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Social mobility is not a train you get to board after you've scraped together enough for the ticket. You have to build the whole bloody engine, with nothing but a spoon and hand-me-down psychological distress. Violence, treachery and cruelty run through the generational veins of Rick Morton's family. A horrific accident thrusts his mother and siblings into a world impossible for them to navigate, a life of poverty and drug addiction.
-
-
Remarkable excavation of a harsh landscape
- By KMV on 03-08-20
-
The Ballad of Danny Wolfe
- Life of a Modern Outlaw
- By: Joe Friesen
- Narrated by: Joe Friesen
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2008, Daniel Richard Wolfe was awaiting trial on two counts of first-degree murder at the Regina Correctional Centre. This wasn't his first time in jail; from his teenage years his life had been marked by stints in and out of prison - with Danny sometimes finding his own way out. This time around, he was orchestrating his boldest move yet: a carefully plotted escape that would send the RCMP on a nationwide manhunt, launching Danny Wolfe to headline-topping notoriety.
-
Being You
- A New Science of Consciousness
- By: Professor Anil Seth
- Narrated by: Anil Seth
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being you is not as simple as it sounds. Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons create our everyday conscious experience. But how does this happen? Anil Seth's unique and groundbreaking theory of what it means to 'be you' challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology. Being You is an accessible, inspiring and eye-opening exploration of consciousness by one of the most remarkable pioneers working in science today.
-
-
A mind bending tour - science of consciousness
- By MR on 13-09-21
-
Silent Earth
- Averting the Insect Apocalypse
- By: Dave Goulson
- Narrated by: Dave Goulson
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Insects are essential for life as we know it. As they become more scarce, our world will slowly grind to a halt; we simply cannot function without them. Drawing on the latest groundbreaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades, with potentially catastrophic consequences. He passionately argues that we must all learn to love, respect and care for our six-legged friends.
-
-
We can’t say we haven’t been warned
- By Rob Mellowship on 11-08-21
-
A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century
- By: Heather Heying
- Narrated by: Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bold, provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes and what we can do about it. We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet we are listless, divided and miserable. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, but our political landscape is unmoored, and rates of suicide, loneliness and chronic illness continue to skyrocket.
-
-
More of the same
- By Mark Bannister on 14-10-21
-
To Hell and Back
- Europe, 1914-1949
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent's politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison.
-
-
An excellent history
- By Cryptochimp on 09-01-18
-
Utopia for Realists
- By: Rutger Bregman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a time of unprecedented upheaval, when technology and so-called progress have made us richer but more uncertain than ever before. We have questions about the future, society, work, happiness, family and money, and yet no political party of the right or left is providing us with answers. So, too, does the time seem to be coming to an end when we looked to economists to help us define the qualities necessary to create a successful society. We need a new movement.
-
-
Why not do it?
- By kieronmayers on 22-11-18
-
Bad Science
- By: Ben Goldacre
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are constantly bombarded with inaccurate, contradictory and sometimes misleading information - until now. Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dubious science behind some of the great drug trials, court cases and missed opportunities of our time. He also shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves.
-
-
Making science truly entertaining
- By Marcus on 26-03-10
-
Gangster Warlords
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a ranch south of Texas, the man known as The Executioner dumps 500 body parts in metal barrels. In Brazil's biggest city, a mysterious prisoner orders hit men to gun down 41 police officers and prison guards in two days. In Southern Mexico a meth maker is venerated as a saint while enforcing Old Testament justice on his enemies. A new kind of criminal kingpin has arisen: part CEO, part terrorist, and part rock star, unleashing guerrilla attacks, strong-arming governments, and taking over much of the world's trade in narcotics, guns, and humans.
-
-
the greatest insight you could have!
- By Nick Anderson on 26-01-17
-
A Common Struggle
- A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction
- By: Patrick J. Kennedy, Stephen Fried
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick J. Kennedy, the former congressman and youngest child of Senator Ted Kennedy, details his personal and political battle with mental illness and addiction, exploring mental health care's history in the country alongside his and every family's private struggles. A Common Struggle weaves together Kennedy's private and professional narratives, echoing Kennedy's philosophy that for him, the personal is political and the political personal.
-
Beastie Boys Book
- By: Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz
- Narrated by: Full Cast
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip-hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam "AD-ROCK" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the almost impossible to fathom overnight success of their debut studio album, Licensed to Ill; that album's messy fallout; and their break with Def Jam, move to Los Angeles, and rebirth as musicians and social activists, with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul's Boutique.
-
-
Audio book ill communication. I loved it
- By Claire on 01-11-18
-
The Cold War
- A World History
- By: Odd Arne Westad
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Germany and then Japan surrendered in 1945, there was a tremendous hope that a new and much better world could be created from the moral and physical ruins of the conflict. Instead, the combination of the huge power of the USA and USSR and the near-total collapse of most of their rivals created a unique, grim new environment: the Cold War. For over 40 years the demands of the Cold War shaped the life of almost all of us. There was no part of the world where East and West did not ultimately demand a blind and absolute allegiance.
-
-
One of the best books I've ever read
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
Dreamland
- The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
- By: Sam Quinones
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 centre 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.
-
Ted
- An Extreme Horror Short Story
- By: Matt Shaw
- Narrated by: Chris Barnes
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people are destined for greatness. They could create fantastic pieces of art to be discussed throughout the ages, they could invest something which furthers mankind, and they could even help solve world hunger or make important steps toward world peace for everyone. These people could be your friends, your neighbors, and even the person you unwittingly bumped into at the petrol station this morning. They could really be anyone - anyone, that is, except Ted. Ted is an asshole....
-
-
Dark and twisted
- By Kelly Rickard on 24-09-16
Summary
It is now 100 years since drugs were first banned in the United States. On the eve of this centenary, journalist Johann Hari set off on an epic three-year, 30,000-mile journey into the war on drugs. What he found is that more and more people all over the world have begun to recognize three startling truths: Drugs are not what we think they are. Addiction is not what we think it is. And the drug war has very different motives to the ones we have seen on our TV screens for so long.
In Chasing the Scream, Hari reveals his discoveries entirely through the stories of people across the world whose lives have been transformed by this war. They range from a transsexual crack dealer in Brooklyn searching for her mother, to a teenage hit-man in Mexico searching for a way out. It begins with Hari's discovery that at the birth of the drug war, Billie Holiday was stalked and killed by the man who launched this crusade - and it ends with the story of a brave doctor who has led his country to decriminalize every drug, from cannabis to crack, with remarkable results.
Chasing the Scream lays bare what we really have been chasing in our century of drug war - in our hunger for drugs, and in our attempt to destroy them. This audiobook will challenge and change how you think about one of the most controversial - and consequential - questions of our time.
Critic reviews
"An absolutely stunning book. It will blow your mind, and blow you away" (Elton John)
"Superb journalism and thrilling story-telling" (Naomi Klein)
"Intoxicatingly thrilling ... It will change the drug debate forever" (Russell Brand) "This book is, forgive the obvious phrase, screamingly addictive. The story it tells, jaw-droppingly horrific, hilarious and incredible, is one everyone should know: that is all true boggles the mind fascinated and infuriates by equal measure. Johann Hari, in brilliant prose, exposes one of the greatest and most harmful scandals of the past hundred years" (Stephen Fry)
"Johann Hari's book is the perfect antidote to the war on drugs, one of the most under-discussed moral injustices of our time. It combines rigorous research and deeply human story-telling. It will prompt an urgently-needed debate" (Glenn Greenwald)
"Johann Hari has written a drug policy reform book like no other. Many have studied, or conducted, the science surrounding the manifold ills of drug prohibition. But Hari puts it all into riveting story form, and humanises it ... It's a fascinating tale" (Norm Stamper, former chief of the Seattle Police Department)
"In this energetic and thought-proving book Johann Hari harnesses the power of personal narrative to reveal the true causes and consequences of the War on Drugs" (Professor David Nutt DM FRCP FRCPsych FMedSci, former chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to the UK government)
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Chasing the Scream
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Just for Today
- 22-06-18
Health Warning - This book may trouble you
So many emotions raised within in me as I listened to this audio book. So much anger, lasting several weeks. Such a thoroughly researched book, frightening events, dark events, hopeless inducing events. Then a turnaround in the second half of the book. A way forwards is documented and illustrations of what's going on in the world now are encouraging and uplifting. Overall, such turmoil, just a small number of people, it seems, are responsible for so many drug-related deaths. I never thought drug legalisation was the way to solve drug addiction. The writer has written an amazing book. Please note the title of this review. Now for a rest before I listen to the next audio book.
27 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Stephanie
- 09-02-15
Captivating and thought provoking
I am a fairly liberal person, not a drug user per-se but I have had my experiences and run-ins with drugs and the system in which they are demonised and scape-goated. This book forced me to review the way I viewed drugs, drug use and drug addicts and drove home some difficult to digest truths. Incredinly interesting, moving, disturbing, liberating, everyone should read this book no matter how they feel about drugs, and I think we as a society will get there in the end - to the place this book so convincingly argues us to go.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Victoria
- 28-05-15
Inspirational
One of the most inspirational, unbelievable yet shockingly real books I have ever encountered. This book will shake you to the core and either reinforce your beliefs about drugs - or change them. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- formidible
- 11-08-18
Amazing
This is one of those books that will change your life. Its not only devastating to read, but exciting and compulsive too. The narrator is one of the best I've come across. This book has changed my perspective on the world. It leaves no stone unturned in its utter expose of the so called War on Drugs. But not only that, Hari also shows how people and society's can be so easily manipulated and hoodwinked into believing the rhetoric of people in powerful positions - evil people, masquerading as politicians or "visionaries", who will do and say anything, and convince anybody, to see their vision become a reality, no matter the cost to human life. Some of the longer chapters read as mini books in themselves - stories that will stay with you forever. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Renata
- 27-04-16
Important, essential, informative.
If you could sum up Chasing the Scream in three words, what would they be?
Important, essential, informative.
What did you like best about this story?
Johann Hari gives us an in depth look at how badly we have handled the situation with illegal drugs and the damage it has done to too many people. This book isn't about encouraging recreational or across the counter drug taking - He doesn't advocate drug taking at all but tries to give us a balanced look at what the War on Drugs really is and where it went wrong right from the outset.
Which character – as performed by Tim Gerard Reynolds – was your favourite?
The reading was well balanced and I thought I was listening to the author most of the time which I deduced as a good thing?
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I tried to remain unemotional about this subject but did find some of the stories sent me into a frustrated tizzy of hair-pulling for all sorts of reasons too long to detail as the stories were many.
Any additional comments?
Whether you adamantly believe in the War on Drugs or believe in legalisation this book really will help you make an informed opinion on the subject. It is a very rational debate on the subject and the book should be an essential read for all those of reading and drug-taking age.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- richard
- 24-05-15
Epic
Amazing!!!! You must download. If you feel anything about drugs this book will blow your mind.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robin
- 12-06-16
Everyone should read or listen to this book.
Chasing the Scream breaks down our societal assumptions about the dangers of drugs with a fascinating investigation which spans history, the animal kingdom, criminality, and individual stories of those worse affected by the war on drugs. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- markj
- 07-05-16
The story you were never told
This is an in-depth and highly thought-provoking examination of the so-called 'war on drugs' of the past century. You will not think about drugs in the same way after this.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr. S. B. D. Henderson
- 21-01-16
One of the most important books of our times, about our times!
This is a wonderfully researched, written and presented exploration and expose of the beginning, middle and (hopefully) end of the war on drugs; it's misguided seed, destructive fruits and maybe a solution to all of the suffering it has caused...
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ricky
- 06-06-16
Sense and sensibility.
A shining light of hope for much and many. Researched and written superbly. The performance of the narrator is brilliant, names are made characters and characters protagonists and heroes, villains and normal people - all are written, represented and respected.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Drake
- 24-04-16
This is worth your time....
Any additional comments?
I am a physician who has practiced a specialty of internal medicine for over 30 years.if you want advice: you should absolutely hear this book.The author makes a compelling case that most, if not all, drugs should be legalized and regulated.I believe that marijuana, opiates, cocaine and methamphetamine cause more harm than good when used recreationally.(Methamphetamine is especially harmful and is a common cause of heart failure and death in long-term users.)Nevertheless, the author has persuaded me that the harm caused by Prohibition and the War on Drugs is not worth the social benefit.Increasing numbers of young people are dying of narcotic overdoses. (Read the excellent Dreamland by Sam Quinones.) With enlightened policies that have worked for example in Switzerland – this can be stopped.Drug-related crime of all kinds – from the many thousands of horrific murders caused by the Cartels to petty theft to help support a habit – could be markedly reduced by legalization. The police could concentrate on criminals doing real social harm. The prisons would not be overflowing with those being brutalized for largely victimless crimes. The money spent arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning drug users could be spent with much greater social benefit. You will learn that many of our drug policies have been founded on ignorance and prosecuted with ulterior motives.There are aspects of this book that I disagree with. The author is not a physician and he has chosen his medical experts selectively. I believe he underestimates the power of "chemical hooks” to disrupt the human reward system and subvert the will.On the whole, he gives much credence to a lack of social connection and past psychotrama as the cause of drug abuse and addiction. I think he probably overemphasizes this influence. There are significant genetic factors that predispose to substance abuse and addiction – this is clearly true with alcohol for example. When susceptible humans meet easily available drugs there is likely to be trouble —and we must accept and be ready to cope with that fact. He freely admits that ending prohibition will probably increase the use of drugs of all sorts. But the drugs will probably be less potent and less dangerous. And the conditions of their use can be better regulated.Mental Health Services (which have not achieved the same scientific foundations or effectiveness as the rest of medicine) and other social services would be significantly challenged by legalization. They could at least be better funded and possibly evolve their effectiveness with the windfall of money not wasted on prohibition.All this said, he has convinced this skeptic that legalization and regulation is the better path. I suspect he will also convince you.
321 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gordon Jones
- 26-01-15
Absolutely magnificent
A more inspiring and insightful book I cannot imagine. Brilliantly presented and truly earth shattering. I do so hope the influences of this well researched work reach far and touch the key people who are in positions to make changes in our society.
64 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- P. Smith
- 04-02-15
A Must if the drug war has touched you at all
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This should be required reading for anyone directly involved in the drug war. It is told in an extremely compelling fashion, and in great detail. Despite this it never lags.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Chasing the Scream?
The history of how the US government destroyed medical treatment, for drug addicts WORLDWIDE.
Which character – as performed by Tim Gerard Reynolds – was your favorite?
Chino, the drug addict illegitimate child of an addict and her rapist father police officer.
If you could give Chasing the Scream a new subtitle, what would it be?
Truth is the first casualty in all wars.
Any additional comments?
If enough people read this book, and act on it, we can bring the problem of addiction under control, and restore a more peaceful society.
63 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jessica
- 30-04-15
Blew my mind
after ensuring the bibliography wasn't filled with junk reports and checking facts with the drug guys and medical gals around campus for verification on dubious and surprising points, I can proudly proclaim that the big facts and figures are correct. I believe his worst infraction was screwing up someone's title or something insubstabtial like that.
So, I'm inspired and fired up. Can someone tell me where the revolution is scheduled to be and if they have coffee there? I'll carpool if needed.
57 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Keith Stout
- 17-02-15
Great factual story
I am very impressed with the authors research on this matter. It has opened my eyes and my heart to a new way of thinking about the so called "War on Drugs". Having grown up in the 60's,70's & the 80's I see how a different approach to this would have had much better results. I have lost friends to drugs and would love nothing more than to see it controlled in this manner. I suggest this read to anyone who has been or is effected by drugs for that matter anyone period!
37 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Joan
- 17-02-15
Beautifully written
The book is powerful. Extremely well researched. Changed everything I thought I knew about drugs and addicts. The author engages the reader from the first sentence to the last
27 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- tony mancill
- 24-09-17
good source material but maddening narration
This book stands apart from others I have read on the subject - e.g. recently "Narconomics" - in that the author takes a very personal and humane approach to the interviewees and subject matter. This seems appropriate and makes the material more interesting than a strictly rational treatment of the subject.
However, the narration detracts greatly from the material in the book because the narrator insists upon reading passages in what he assumes would be the voice of the speaker. These voices range from grating caricatures to down-right insulting stereotypes. The narrator has a background in theater and maybe this is supposed to draw the listener in, but for me it destroys the pathos evoked by the stories in the book.
I recommend the book itself, but consider reading it instead of listening to it.
30 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Teresa Stuart
- 02-02-15
Challenges many of my perceptions
As a recovered alcoholic and a clinical addiction counselor I'm having to look again at my own recovery and at the way I counsel others seeking recovery.
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Calliope
- 03-04-16
All you need is love..........
This is a flaming piece of propaganda that is almost enough to turn me away from my beliefs towards decriminalizing drugs......when I see (or hear) someone twist words around, ignore facts, and jumble examples this badly, I presume he doesn't have a strong and rational enough argument to be able to sell it without these propagandist tools.
The premise here -- at least one of them, it's hard to keep them straight -- is that all one needs is love, a purpose in life, and virtual utopia to avoid and/or recover from a drug addiction. It's a fairyland premise that makes me want to scream. This idea sounds all rosy and peachy keen, except when it's applied to reality where, even without drugs, there still are boring McJobs, social isolation, physical infirmities, abusive parents, chronic unemployment, and government Catch 22s. It's certainly a premise that will not stand the test of reality.
And the author chooses some very prejudicial language to make his point -- drug addicts are not "jailed", they're "caged", for instance. Then there's the author's claim that if drugs were legalized, the drug cartels would fade away like the gangsters had when Prohibition was repealed......ignoring the fact that they (organized criminals) didn't fade away, they just switched to other forms of crime to continue making their piles of money and piling up power.
If only we could give drug addicts a big hug and invite them to share our Sunday dinner, they would have the tools they need to break their addiction (eye roll here) - where the author assumes every addict wants to be free of his/her addiction on one hand, but on the other hand says that some addicts prefer their addictive life to the boring McJob they might have otherwise. Oh, and the author ignores the fact that boring jobs (janitor was one mentioned here) will always exist, so if McJobs are part of the problem, that isn't going to change with decriminalization or legalization.
The author barely mentions the biological component of addiction, which is constantly brushed away as "such a minor part", though genetics is never something to ignore and sweep under a rug. But, the author also has a hard time realistically judging voting statistics, when he claims a vote that split 55% for and 45% against was a landslide that won by "over 10%!!!". While the numbers are right, the truth is that it's a slight victory, hardly a landslide, and it means that almost half the voters will have to be won emotionally since they lost at the polls, and will be a force to be reckoned with. A strange interpretation of facts.
There is some good stuff here -- the history of the start of the "drug wars," the financial motives behind it, and the bullying of the US against other countries was interesting. And I do support a lot of what he wants, though I hate what and how he presents his support. Still, I had a hard time finishing this book and getting through the "all you need is love" speeches and his blatant ignoring of the parts of reality and history that don't match his ideas.
78 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Deondre
- 06-02-15
Definitive story of "The war on drugs"
Full of great historical and current stories of the creators and victims of our centuries old war on drugs. Astonishing to find that one man, Harry Anslinger, had so much to do with this disastrous global campaign.
18 people found this helpful