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When Crack Was King

When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era is a 2023 nonfiction book written by Donovan X. Ramsey.[1][2]

When Crack Was King
AuthorDonovan X. Ramsey
LanguageEnglish
Published2023
Publication placeUnited States

Critical reception

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When Crack Was King was critically-acclaimed upon its release with positive reviews from publications including the Los Angeles Times[3], The New York Times[4], Kirkus Reviews[5], NPR, Apple Books,[6] Publishers Weekly[7], and The Guardian.[8] The Washington Post named the book a notable new release in a "summer of big books."[9] It was on Vanity Fair's July 2023 list of "The Best New Books to Read This Summer"[10] and Time magazine's "10 New Books You Should Read in July."[11]

When Crack Was King was also honored on a number of best-of lists in 2023, including The Washington Post's "50 notable works of nonfiction,"[12] Audible's "The 12 best history listens of 2023,"[13] Time's "100 Must-Read Books of 2023,"[14] and Publishers Weekly's "Best Nonfiction of 2023."[15] In addition, it was named to NPR's 2023 "Books We Love" list[16] and Amazon's "The Best Books of 2023"[17] and "Best History Books of 2023."[18]

"An excellent work of people-first journalism, When Crack Was King offers not only a vivid and frank history, but points to the way communities tend to save themselves even as they're being actively targeted by state policy and violence," wrote Ilana Masad for NPR.[19] For the New York Times, Jonathan Green wrote, "Ramsey aims to give the story of the crack epidemic a human face while telling it from start to finish, a herculean task. By and large he succeeds."[20] In her review for The Los Angeles Times, Zan Romanoff wrote that When Crack Was King, "manages to convey the scope of history while also remaining grounded in the specific and personal. And it feels particularly relevant as America stares down another drug epidemic with no clear end in sight."[21]

"Ramsey's debut work of nonfiction is a master class in disrupting a stubborn narrative, a monumental feat for the fraught subject of addiction in Black communities," wrote Zachary Siegel in a review for The Washington Post, "Thanks to Ramsey's diligent work, the crack era no longer feels distant and fragmented."[22]

The book received a coveted starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly[23] and Kirkus with latter calling When Crack Was King, "Passionate, important reportage on a tragic era in American history from an author who lived through it."[5]

Awards and honors

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When Crack Was King was one of ten books named to the 2023 Longlist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.[24] "The titles on the list were selected from six hundred and thirty eight submissions from publishers," noted The New Yorker.[25] In its announcement, the National Book Foundation wrote, "Journalist Donovan X. Ramsey explores the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s through four profiles of individuals whose lives were impacted by the crisis. Connecting the civil rights era and war on drugs to today's conversations about police brutality, gentrification, and mass incarceration, When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era argues that the low-income Black and brown communities disproportionately affected should receive the assistance they have been denied for generations."[26]

The book was also finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize for the publishing year 2023.[27] Named for the longtime critic and NBCC co-founder John Leonard, the Leonard Prize recognizes the best book by a first-time author in any genre.

References

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  1. ^ Green, Jonathan (2023). "The New York Times".
  2. ^ "MSNBC". MSNBC. 2023.
  3. ^ Romanoff, Zan (2023-07-07). "No such thing as a 'crackhead': Drawing stories and lessons from the last drug epidemic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  4. ^ Green, Jonathan (2023-07-11). "Why Crack Became the 1980s 'Superdrug'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  5. ^ a b When Crack Was King | Kirkus Reviews.
  6. ^ "When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era (Unabridged)". Apple Books. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  7. ^ "When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X Ramsey". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  8. ^ Smith, David (2023-07-17). "When Crack Was King: looking back on an epidemic that destroyed lives". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  9. ^ "Forecasting a busy summer of big books". Washington Post. 2023-05-29. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  10. ^ "The Best New Books to Read This Summer". Vanity Fair. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  11. ^ "Here Are the 10 New Books You Should Read in July". Time. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  12. ^ "50 notable works of nonfiction". Washington Post. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  13. ^ "The 12 best history audiobooks of 2023". Audible Blog. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  14. ^ "'When Crack Was King' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2023". Time. 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  15. ^ "Best 20 Books 2023: Publishers Weekly". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  16. ^ "Books We Love". NPR. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  17. ^ "Top 100 books to read and cherish | Best Books of 2023". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  18. ^ "Best History Books of 2023 | Kindle @ Amazon.com". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  19. ^ Masad, Ilana (July 11, 2023). "'When Crack Was King' follows four people who lived through the drug epidemic". NPR.
  20. ^ Green, Jonathan (2023-07-11). "Why Crack Became the 1980s 'Superdrug'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  21. ^ Romanoff, Zan (2023-07-07). "No such thing as a 'crackhead': Drawing stories and lessons from the last drug epidemic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  22. ^ "Review | Decades after the crack epidemic, we're still reckoning with our mistakes". Washington Post. 2023-08-23. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  23. ^ "When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X Ramsey". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  24. ^ Andrews, Meredith (2023-09-14). "2023 National Book Awards Longlist for Nonfiction". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  25. ^ Yorker, The New (2023-09-14). "The 2023 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  26. ^ Andrews, Meredith (2023-09-14). "2023 National Book Awards Longlist for Nonfiction". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  27. ^ Board, Members Of The National Book Critics Circle (2024-01-25). "NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR PUBLISHING YEAR 2023". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
 

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