Ruben Castaneda

This is a fantastic memoir by a Washington Post crime beat reporter mostly set during the late 80s and early 90s at the height of DC's crack wars. As a journalist for the Post Castaneda was also a crack addict himself, reporting on during the day the same people he secretly hung out with at night. I don't normally read books like this but this one seemed different and I'm glad to have gained a better understanding of the world usually depicted more romantically in works like The Wire. There are many memorable episodes as seen through the perspective of cops, drug deals, prostitutes and of course middle-class professionals like Castaneda who were driving the drug trade. The memoir was poignant for me since I grew up around DC during that time. The city he describes is still how I think of it, though things have improved considerably in the past 20 years, as he shows. A Google Street View ride though S Street speaks volumes how it is changing.… (mehr)