THE LEAST OF US

u003cpu003eu003cbu003eApple Best Books of 2021 u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eLonglisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal * Shortlisted for the Zocalo Book Prize u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003eFrom the u003ciu003eNew York Timesu003c/iu003e bestselling author of u003ciu003eDreamlandu003c/iu003e, a searing follow-up that explores the terrifying next stages of the opioid epidemic and the quiet yet ardent stories of community repair.u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003e Sam Quinones traveled from Mexico to main streets across the U.S. to create u003ciu003eDreamlandu003c/iu003e, a groundbreaking portrait of the opioid epidemic that awakened the nation. As the nation struggled to put back the pieces, Quinones was among the first to see the dangers that lay ahead: synthetic drugs and a new generation of kingpins whose product could be made in Magic Bullet blenders. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine. They laced it into cocaine, meth, and counterfeit pills to cause tens of thousands of deaths-at the same time as Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent than ever, creating, Sam argues, swaths of mental illness and a surge in homelessness across the United States.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eQuinones hit the road to investigate these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations. "In a time when drug traffickers act like corporations and corporations like traffickers," he writes, "our best defense, perhaps our only defense, lies in bolstering community." Amid a landscape of despair, Quinones found hope in those embracing the forgotten and ignored, illuminating the striking truth that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eWeaving analysis of the drug trade into stories of humble communities, u003ciu003eThe Least of Usu003c/iu003e delivers an unexpected and awe-inspiring response to the call that shocked the nation in Sam Quinones's award-winning u003ciu003eDreamlandu003c/iu003e.u003c/pu003e