Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line [Paperback]

Terry Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1993

"This sad and harrowing portrait of wasted lives is rife with gritty details but thankfully void of self-righteous judgment."—Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sociologist Williams conveys a certain humanity that exists amidst the terrible degradation of the crackhouse depicted in this ethnographic study.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Williams, whose The Cocaine Kids (1989) so vividly depicted the world of young N.Y.C. coke dealers, now reports with equal skill and caring on the subterranean depths inhabited by their customers. The crackhouse is a third-floor apartment in a ``faded townhouse'' in Manhattan's West Spanish Harlem. Since 1987, Williams says, he's often visited this drug den as a nonparticipating observer. Owned by an atypical ``crackhead''- -``Headache,'' a late-40s white man of Czechoslovakian Jewish roots--the crackhouse functions as home to a ``family'' of three male and four female addicts, all, except Headache, Dominican or African-American. Writing in tight, clean prose, Williams follows the seven during their daily routines and reveals the arcana of crackhouse culture: how crack became the ghetto's drug of choice; the difference between freebased cocaine and crack, and between crackhouses that deal drugs and those that merely harbor users; the usual crackhouse diet (``thirty-five cent packages of Little Debbie cakes and Johnson cookies and cans of Nutrament''); the special crackhouse lingo (derived, astonishingly, mostly from Star Trek: addicts who want to get high demand, ``Beam me up, Scotty''). More importantly, Williams unveils the hell-horrors of crackhouse life: the maniacal pursuit of the high and its almost invariable twin, unsafe sex; the way addiction can turn an upright citizen into a filthy, self-loathing drug-fiend (e.g., Headache, once a wealthy dry-goods salesman); the rampant, degrading prostitution by women in exchange for the drug. And, unexpectedly, Williams also reveals the surprising tenderness and subtle sense of political rebellion that binds together crackhouse denizens. Compelling ethnography with a rare moral core, important for its clear, persuasive message that these lost souls are victims, worthy of our compassion. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140232516
• ISBN-13: 978-0140232516
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to this countercultural subset., May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line (Paperback)

Terry Williams does a very good job in introducing the reader to this little known and forgotten subset of our society. The story focuses on his experiences and observations of a small group of crack and free-base cocaine users. His prose is devoid of moral undertones and is non-judgemental allowing the reading to form his own opinions and motivations.

Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line does not sensationalize or exploit the travails of these people in this lifestyle. This book does not shock anywhere near as much as it educates. Mr. Williams does not sugar coat anything, but he refrains from overstating the obvious.

Mr. Williams has also included a nice glossary of terms at the end of the book concerning the crackhouse vernacular.

I wish the book could have detailed the lives of the inhabitants outside of the actual crackhouse or smoking room with more detail. How were these people contributing to society when they weren't "seeing Scotty" (a phrase that Williams' group would sometimes use when getting high)? Perhaps, this was not the focus that Williams was aiming for.

In any case, I strongly recommend this book for anybody with an interest in the ethnology of crack cocaine users. I found the book educational. I look forward to reading more about this subject in the future.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening Portrait of a Sub-Culture, November 16, 2010

By 

N. Allen (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line (Paperback)

This book offers a tremendous behind the scenes look that only a dedicated "sociologist" would provide. The author took on the audacious project of living intimately with a family of "crackheads" for a series of months. He takes you through the sex lives, the jargon, and the impulsive behavior of "joe user" in the Big Apple.

If you read Freakonimics, this books will sound very similar to the one on the economics of the Crack trade. Here, though, the user is profiled. Williams has chosen a crack-house full of humans whose number one priority in life is to score and get high. For a self-proclaimed glaciologist, Williams is able to remain seemingly non-biased throughout the bulk of the text. Only in the closing chapter do you get a significant amount of opinion and interpretation.

However, I do think that Williams is correct in his major interpretive thesis. That is: Many crack users are part of a subversive racially-influenced culture that seeks to avoid the path of the "white man". Many users share similar upbringings and experiences that lead to an acceptance of a druggie lifestyle. If you are interested in the power of drugs, or just to get a glimpse of alternative American life, I strongly recommend this title.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not as good as "the cocaine kids", August 4, 2007

By 

judge jules "tolkien stalker" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line (Hardcover)

although is isnt as good as "the cocaine kids", williams has managed to put a very realistic face on the crack problem killing america. my only real complaint with the book is that it dosent go into the lives of the books subjects enough... it seems more like a short over-view instead of being intensly focused. i did enjoy the read and i will probably re read it again in the future.