Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America (Rev) [Paperback]

Edward Jay Epstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1990

President Bush has made the war against drugs the number one issue on the contemporary American political agenda. In this revised edition of his classic book, available for the first time in paperback, Edward Jay Epstein argues that the president has adopted the strategy of his forbear, Richard Nixon, in using the drugs war to blame foreigners for the crisis in America's cities, and to provide a smokescreen for unrelated political activity designed to bolster executive power. The drugs crackdown has seen an almost hundredfold increase in the federal budget for narco-politics in the fifteen years since Agency of Fear was first published, while statistics on drug-running have been massaged. Epstein points out that, despite the massive budgets and public relations brouhaha, drug importation, as measured against wholesale price, has in fact grown.

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About the Author

Edward Jay Epstein is the author of ten books including deception: The Invisible War between the CIA and KGB, The rise and Fall of Diamonds, Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth and News From Nowhere.

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Verso; Revised edition (December 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0860915298
• ISBN-13: 978-0860915294
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,384,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I studied government at Cornell and Harvard, and received a Ph.D from Harvard in 1973. My master's thesis on the search for political truth ("Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth" and my doctoral dissertation ("News From Nowhere") were both published as books. I taught political science at MIT and UCLA. I have now written 14 books. My website www.edwardjayepstein.com)