James Fallows endorsement

Many exciting things are happening in anticipation of Fentanyl, Inc.’s September 3 release date in the U.S. The UK cover is above; the book comes out there, and in Australia and New Zealand, on October 10. I’m thrilled that the back covers will have an endorsement from James Fallows of The Atlantic, an expert on China and many other subjects:

This is an exceptionally useful and well-timed book. I hope anyone concerned about this era’s new addiction epidemic will read it and put its messages to use. Ben Westhoff very skilfully combines pharmacology, politics, law enforcement, and gripping international intrigue in his account of America’s number-one public health problem. I hope Fentanyl, Inc is widely read and influential.

Fentanyl, Inc. release date

Drug-testing lab in Vienna, Austria

My new book Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic comes out September 3, 2019 in the U.S. In the UK, the release date is October 1, 2019, and for Australia and New Zealand it is October 10, 2019.

Here’s the Amazon page.

My fall book tour is also taking shape. To receive information about it sign up for my mailing list.

More soon!

Tupac and his legacy

I was fortunate to be interviewed by Double J radio in Australia for a multimedia program about Tupac on his recent death anniversary. It goes into great depth and shouts out Original Gangstas, which also just had an anniversary, its second.

New book on fentanyl out next year

Ben is joined by writer Ben Westhoff to discuss his upcoming book "Fentanyl Inc.", and the fascinatingly terrifying corporate underbelly of the opioid epidemic End the software struggle today. Go to http://softwareadvice.com/abe to get started. Get your first order free by visiting http://filtereasy.com and enter code: TOPHAT Get your first refill pack free at http://getquip.com/tophat BossaBossa, Open Those Bright Eyes, ZigZag, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

I talked about my upcoming book about fentanyl and new drugs (due out next year on Grove/Atlantic) publicly for the first time recently. with Ben Kissel on his podcast Abe Lincoln's Top Hat. The interview gets into my infiltration of Chinese drug labs, as well as the opioid crisis and new drugs like K2 and Spice. Thanks a ton to Ben for having me on!

Some news

We're delving into the cases of two of the most famous "unsolved" murders of the 20th century: Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. On our first episode, we're going to give a short history of gangsta rap in order to track the path that led to the deaths of two of the biggest musical icons of the nineties. ​

Original Gangstas was used as the source material for a three-episode series on the Tupac and Biggie murders for the popular podcast, Last Podcast on the Left. The guys were very funny, and I am extremely grateful for their support. Not coincidentally, Original Gangstas just had a third paperback printing. 

Meanwhile, I'm in edits on my next book, due out next year on Grove/Atlantic. The book discusses the opioid crisis and focuses on the rise of fentanyl and other new drugs (like K2 and Spice), and for it I traveled all over the world, meeting everyone from addicts to kingpins. The most harrowing part was infiltrating drug operations in China, where most of these chemicals are made. I'm very proud of this book, so stay tuned for more updates and please subscribe to my mailing list at the bottom of this page.

Original Gangstas now in paperback

Original Gangstas, complete with sleek new cover and new subtitle, is now available in paperback! It’s in local stores, chain stores, and only $11 on Amazon.

“Scrupulously researched with many incisive revelations, this may be the best book ever written about the hip hop world.”―S. Leigh Savidge, Academy Award nominee and co-writer of Straight Outta Compton

“An elaborately detailed, darkly surprising, definitive history of the LA gangsta rap era.”―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“An airtight and unflinching book. Original Gangstas is as resolute as the people and ideas it sets out to profile, and that is no small feat.”―Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author of The Rap Year Book