Reefer madness and other tales from the American underground

Every society has its undergrounds, black markets and hidden economies - and we all need them more than we would like to admit. Drugs are one of our most profitable industries. Immigrants provide a vast, disposable work force yet are vilified by the press. And, despite anti-obscenity crusades, the sex business just keeps on growing. In this brilliant expos� Eric Schlosser looks at the three pillars of America�s, and the world�s, subterranean economy - pornography, marijuana and the traffic in illegal immigrants. He visits prisons to investigate government wars on cannabis; meets the exploited workers of California�s strawberry fields; and interviews the �Walt Disney of Porn�. As well as providing a glimpse beneath the shiny, happy surface of American culture, these stories illustrate how the commodities we publicly abhor and privately adore are now the major source of everyone�s wealth, with the EU�s shadow economy even outgrowing the USA�s. Above all, 'Reefer Madness' shows how the underground is linked to the mainstream - that the things a country hides are ultimately more revealing than those it displays.