Heroin and Music in New York City (PDF)

Barry Spunt is an associate professor in the Sociology Department, at John Jay Criminal College, City University of New York

"The book read to me as a labour of love and is a model of scholarship. . .As such, it is a fine example for students of the imaginative use of secondary data and, rather like the board game Monopoly, is a methodology that could be copied to another big city, only with a comparative dimension to boot." - Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

"Spunt's study of heroin use amongst New York City's musicians is an exciting academic journey for those who appreciate the merits of qualitative research and especially scholars working in urban ethnography and cultural criminology. Readers will discover that Spunt's groundbreaking study engages the critical academic mind and also the human heart: this book confronts the reader with a vast human tragedy where many of our best musicians have ruined their artistic excellence with heroin." - Thaddeus Muller, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Erasmus University, The Netherlands

"Spunt clearly and comprehensively demonstrates the connection between heroin and music and the need for a better understanding of that nexus." - Henry H. Brownstein, Senior Fellow, University of Chicago, USA

"This work promises to make a unique contribution to the sociological literature on music and drug use. Spunt is eminently qualified to make this statement, having distinguished himself as a veteran ethnographer of the New York City heroin scene. His depiction of New York City heroin-using musicians is simply fascinating, sure to become a classic in the field." - Mark S. Hamm, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Indiana State University, USA, and author of The Spectacular Few: Prisoner Radicalization and the Evolving Terrorist Threat