Crackhouse: Notes from the End of the Line

by Terry Williams

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

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Race, History, Drugs

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

Not the same author as Terry Tempest Williams.

Reviews

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since this book was written in 1992 I believe we've discovered more about this drug than he addresses but it still was an interesting look into the lives of crack addicts living in N.Y.C. Honestly, being an X user myself it was quite hard to read this book, to read of the craving for this drug that I have actually experienced. Bad memories for me hence the low rating on the book.

[Badly Drawn Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book are definitely dated but the bigger picture that Terry Williams is trying to share is still the same. This is a good introductory book to the crack epidemic. It succeeds in being non-judgmental and showing a small representative slice of those using the drug. You cannot help but see their humanity showing through. As a nation we have been force fed images of crackheads that are blatantly false. There are people using crack in neighborhoods all over this country. There are people who work good jobs that come home and hit the pipe. There are mothers raising children who are also smoking. Not everyone ends up homeless, prostituting or breaking laws beyond the drug usage itself. This book focuses on one crackhouse in New York, and as such the people featured are a small sample of reality. But I praise Terry Williams for showing them as more than "just" crackheads.

[Shannyn Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be fooled. This book looks and feels light as a feather in your hands, but it's heavy stuff. 

Published in 1992, "Crackhouse" certainly captures the era with all its fresh-to-def slang and asymmetrical hairstyles, but I get the feeling that not much has really changed in the grand scheme of things.

Girls still being reduced to $2 blowjobs (adjust for inflation) to buy drugs they're hopelessly hooked on? Check. Men still searching for some elusive fulfillment at the end of a pipe and in the arms of a prostitute? Check. Dealers still preying on the vulnerable and taking over abandoned buildings to create social "galleries" for users? I hear these buildings are called "bandos" now instead of crack houses. So check. 

In case it sounds like I'm being crass, I'll admit that I found this book almost painful to read at times. In the final chapter one of the "crackheads" (the term many of the crack users in the book used to describe themselves), a young woman named Joan, says "I hate this drug but I love it. I've been on this pipe for seven long years and nothing is worse or better than my hit." I imagine that pretty much captures the long and short of crack addiction, or any addiction: a never-ending cycle of intense pleasure and utter misery. 

That said, I appreciate that the author doesn't reduce the addicts to their label: you get to see them doing and feeling all the same things human beings tend to do and feel- you see a lot of who they are beyond their addictions. I was worried this wouldn't be the case, given the description of the book as "a sad and harrowing portrait of wasted lives" on the cover. (I don't know if I think it's fair to describe an addict's life as "wasted," even if they don't recover-- they can still have a positive impact on the world around them in some meaningful way-- though I was glad to read in the epilogue that several of the people in the book were no longer using and, in several cases, were mending relationships with their children. 

I also appreciate that the author gives historical context for how the crack epidemic came to be. If I'm getting this right, production of cocaine in countries like Bolivia, Peru and Colombia expanded significantly in the 1980's, thereby driving down the price. With cocaine now much more abundant and affordable in the United States, people experimented more with creating a smokable form they could "freebase." This form of the drug came to be known as "crack" because of the sound it makes when smoked and, as the author explains, "crack offered a chance to expand sales in ways never before possible because it was packaged in small quantities that sold for as little as two to five dollars. This allowed dealers to attract a new class of consumer: the persistent poor. Crack was sold on street corners, bringing the drug to people who could not pay the entrance fees to after hours clubs," where cocaine use was previously more popular, "or who would have been uncomfortable with the free-spending ambience in those places."

All in all, I found this book to be very well-written, educational and respectful of its subjects. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the early years of the crack epidemic. 

[Camille Crichlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book when my dad was packing up his office for retirement LOL. Quite random, but I found this ethnography so interesting. Gives a tragic, yet humanizing and sometimes uplifting story of addiction, and the kinds of familial relations that emerge out of the struggle to feed it. These familial formations in the “crack house” can sometimes be relationships of care, and conviviality, but can also spiral into violence, misogyny, and desperation. This book gave humanist insight into the intricacies of an addiction most will never see up close. Also cool to hear about NYC in the 1980/90’s.

[Ryan Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humanizing crack addicts? way ahead of its time.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a bit dated by now (the author did his field work back in the '80s), the social realities that this book details still ring true. I read this for an anthropology class and we focused on the cultures of refusal and denial practiced by the crack users in the book as well as by the larger American society (towards the crack users). Also fascinating was the structure and operations of the crack houses themselves, which served as sort of a surrogate family for their inhabitants. The author has an obvious agenda (prompting America to rethink our drug/crime policies and the effects they have on marginalized populations) but he is upfront about it. Overall an important read that humanizes crack users.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Very few of the places I visited allowed both selling and use on the premises. There is a logic to this situation: selling attracts users seeking free cocaine, often by violent means, and the traffic inevitably attracts police attention. In short, the crackhouse is basically a 'play' environment, and this is not consistent with the relations needed for a good business arrangement." (4)

"Carpenters, sociologists, computer programmers all employ a special language to describe what they do. The crackhouse culture, too, has invented its on vernacular to discuss the all-important rituals of smoking crack, with a lexicon built on the television series and movie Star Trek." (35)

[Tom Harr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book as part of my sociocultural anthropology course in college. Yes, some of the elements of the book are dated, but I think that aspect of the book adds an important historical element that demonstrated how even though crack culture in the U.S. may have changed, this is still a relevant issue that deals with real people and real consequences. I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on linguistic elements and it's multiple perspectives.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

By turns entertaining, informative, sad and a bit dated- Crackhouse offers a firsthand, almost Gonzo case study of the crack cocaine epidemic of the late '80's in NYC. My main objection was the author's keying in of the Star Trek lingo supposedly in use at the time. Seemed like people must have been yanking his chain.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't enjoy reading this book, it was short and I did get a bit of (not so fun) insight into the world of crack cocaine. I guess I didn't read it for fun though, so I shouldn't be so hard on it. It was well written, but rather hopeless.

[Elyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my ongoing quest to understand substance abuse, I found that this book provides a first-hand account of crack addiction.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sociological glimpse into the gathering places where crack and freebase drug use is prevalent.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty, this guy gets it right! He even knows the distinction between basehouse and crackhouse!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sociology study of crack dens in Harlem in the 70s. If you are interested in the culture, lingo, practices of that time with that particular drug, it's a quick read

[Libraryscat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an interesting picture of addiction. From the status of women to the day-to-day life of those in the drug culture.

[Philip Antoniades · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good field sociology

[Melissa Dally · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's pretty dated at this point.

[Josh Anderson]

Interesting read. National Geographical take on Crack Culture. Worth a look if you've ever wondered about the life and times of Crackheads.