Reviewed by Jenny Wierschem

Given the rate of economic growth detailed in Eric Schlosser’s Reefer Madness, you might be tempted to shift your investment dollars from the stock market to the black market. After all, where else could you rise from peddling comic books out of your trunk to having Swiss bank accounts flush with money skimmed from a pornography empire? Of course, if you choose this financial path, your backup plans had better include jail breaks. Reuben Sturman’s did.

Sturman is just one of the characters Schlosser introduces readers to in his latest book, which chronicles the dizzying growth of the underground economy over the last 30 years. Where his previous book, Fast Food Nation, explored an industry inarguably central to the American experience, Schlosser makes a case that the black market is just as influential. He cites statistics estimating the U.S. underground economy at more than nine percent of the gross domestic product and suggests that the actual figure is higher.

As it would be impossible to examine the entire black market, Schlosser divides his book into distinct sections reporting on three industries: the marijuana trade, migrant workers in the strawberry fields of California, and the pornography business. Schlosser proves adept at stacking and pairing facts to highlight the often absurd failures of the legislation designed to regulate these industries. While the people interviewed on different sides of issues are presented in brief sketches, Schlosser handles them evenly. They seem caught in what would be a comedy if it weren’t for the disastrous results.

Dividing the book into sections makes a complex topic manageable, but it is also perhaps the book’s greatest weakness. The introduction and conclusion strive to tie the three sections together, but the connections are tenuous. However, that flaw isn’t reason enough to pass up the book. Schlosser’s chosen subjects, rich reporting and animated writing are compelling and important enough to forgive a loose structure.