Shattered Lives: Portraits From America's Drug War (Paperback)

by Mikki Norris (Author), R.U. Sirius (Author), Virginia Resner (Author), Chris Conrad (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Shattered Lives argues its points poignantly and persuasively, putting a human face on the drug war better than anybody could have wished for. This is an important and timely book, and the authors deserve a lot of credit. I really do believe that if more people saw this book and spent even just ten minutes reading through it, there would be a shift in public acceptance regarding continuing the 'drug war'.

"Shattered Lives deserves to be viewed as much as read, and it is the sort of book that needs to be displayed on everybody's coffee table rather than put away on a bookshelf. Ideally, this book will get the public response it so well deserves." -- Paul Armentano, The Leaflet, Dec. 3, 1998

"Shattered Lives is a must - a wake-up call to every American. The book is beautifully designed with photographs and stories of ordinary people caught in the web of drug war excesses. Show it to people who think we need a drug war! Compare the 'crimes' with the punishments. See how freedom and justice vanish from America. For each person caught, a whole family suffers. A great gift idea." -- Clifton Thorton, Efficacy, November 1998

"Shattered Lives pages are bursting with pictures and sidebars. The designers have done a nice job. If only high schools were using it as a workbook. (A replacement for DARE, perhaps?) It was written for and in part by the poor souls devoured by the war on drugs. Many of the sidebars were written by current inmates. Their accounts and accompanying photographs are touching, to say the least.

"It dawned on me after finishing Shattered Lives that the way to end the drug war was right there in those pictures. All those families torn apart, all those innocent people steamrolled by the government. The government is creating the enemy army right now. Once enough people are victimized, it's only a matter of time before this army starts to march." -- Jonathan Ellis, Liberty magazine, February 1999

"Shattered Lives is an incredible book. I challenge anyone to read it and not be moved, both emotionally and intellectually." -- Louie Free, WASN radio personality, Youngstown OH, Dec. 13, 1998

"An everyman's edition of People magazine. Clearly written and concisely structured, the book's ten chapters rely on photographs to help tell the subjects' stories. The pictures, both color and black-and white, show warm and compassionate human faces attesting to the otherwise cold hard facts of the Drug War's inhumanity. The snapshots prove that Drug War prisoners of war belie criminal stereotypes. Sure, there are a few youthful Deadheads and dreadlocked Rastas, but suburban soccer moms, grandma and grandpa types and plenty of blue-collar workers also find themselves behind bars, mainly because of mandatory sentencing laws.

"Not only do the short profiles of each defendant keep the reader browsing along at a quick clip, humor also reiterates the human element in Shattered Lives, with section headings such as "Urine the Money," an expose of the burgeoning drug testing industry." -- Russ Tarby, Syracuse New Times, Nov. 4-11, 1998

"An intelligent and thorough new book by Mikki Norris, Chris Conrad and Virginia Resner, Shattered Lives lays it all out and provides plenty of food for thought." -- Joanne Forman, New Unionist, Minneapolis MN, Dec. 1998

Product Description
This is the first book to use photos and personal case stories to show the human cost of the US Drug War. It is art-quality in its 8-1/2 by 11" presentation, with a full color, laminated cover and containing more than 150 photos. The pages are printed on 80# gloss paper, 118 black and white plus 12 color pages. This approach highlights the dignity, warmth and humanity of its subjects, contrasted to the stark statistics and harsh penalties of the Drug War. It is perfect to open up the eyes of even the hardest-hearted drug warrior, showing how the children and families of the prisoners are also hurt, how circumstantial hearsay evidence is used to construct cases against low-level or even innocent defendants, how family homes and property are seized with no evidence whatsoever, innocent people killed by law enforcement, and policies used for cultural and racial suppression. One of the most powerful books ever written on the unintended consequences of the drug war, this is a book that can change people's minds, and it also offers hope as it discusses policy alternatives to help drug addicts, control drug use and promote tolerance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 118 pages
• Publisher: Creative Xpressions.; 1 edition (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963975439
• ISBN-13: 978-0963975430
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,507 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Tear-Jerker, July 31, 2000

By	Bryan "CelticBrewer" (Coventry, CT United States) - See all my reviews

In addition to agreeing with most of the other reviews of this book, I think the main mission is to show this nation's harsh mandatory minimum sentencing. Also, a lot of people shown in this book are in prison solely for being associated with someone (usually a boyfriend or husband) who was dealing drugs. A lot of times, these people receive larger sentences than the leaders of the drug rings because they refuse to testify against their loved ones.

Recently, Amy Pofahl, (who is featured in this book) was granted sentence commutation by President Clinton. She had already served nearly ten years of a no-parole 24-year sentence on conspiracy charges related to her ex-husband's participation in an Ecstasy production and distribution ring. He got three years of probation in the US, but also served a four-year sentence in Germany.

Overall, this book is very important and well laid out. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is overly emotional because it's incredibly sad how our own government treats these people.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable! What kind of justice is this?, October 27, 2001

By	"mercedesdiesel" (Kelseyville, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is by far the saddest book I own. I cannot believe that the U.S. government would allow such cruel and unusual punishments. Murderers and child Molesters don't even serve half the time as most the people in this book are or will be serving. 189 years, 8 months charged with conspiracy to transport cocaine. I'm not saying I agree with with the crime committed but I have to admit that the sentences are far from just. Non Violent Drug Offenders, Not Rapist, Not Serial Killers. 24 years charged with conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute. Many, many more stories and lots of them are first time offenders...What kind of country are we? No wonder the UN voted us off. I just can't believe this kind of ignorance is happening right under our noses...and maximum sentencing for many convicted murders is less than 30 years for Violent crimes...does this make sense to you? Early parole for them to make room for these drug prisoners. I am appalled. The authors did an outstanding job presenting these tragic stories. Hats off to them. I will share this book with everyone I know! That is the only way to change this unrelenting system called justice! United we stand, divided we fall, and that is a bummer!The authors of this book are giving these people who are locked away a voice that will hopefully reach people like you or myself that might read this book and want to do something to help change these uncivilized laws.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unfair review inspires attempt for balance, December 27, 1999

By	Georgina Fenichel (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

I just finished a most incredible book, Shattered Lives. It succeeds in putting a very human face on "the big ugly", the US drug war. Reading the review on this book by someone called Newtiger it became painfully obvious that this reviewer had a political agenda in trying to turn off potential readers. The power of Shattered Lives on an unbiased reader to be sickened by the actions of the government in its drug war role elicited what is likely to be Newtiger's self promoting review. It would not surprise me to learn that Newtiger is someone directly profitting by the drug war insanity ie. prosecutor, politician, prison guard,etc. Anyone who sincerely wants to understand what is happening in America should read this book- after finishing the book they might read Newtiger's review to understand spinmaster illusions.