{"product_id":"the-speed-chronicles-paperback","title":"The Speed Chronicles - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoseph Mattson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Akashic launches a new series of crime anthologies, each focused on a different controlled substance, with this addictive volume.\" \u003cem\u003e--Publishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"All told, \u003cem\u003eThe Speed Chronicles\u003c\/em\u003e deserves great praise for the audacity of the topic, the depth of the discussion, the diversity of its voices, and plain, old, good storytelling.\" --\u003cem\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA selection of the Akashic Drug Chronicles Series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Featuring brand-new stories by Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, James Franco, Megan Abbott, Jerry Stahl, Beth Lisick, Jess Walter, Scott Phillips, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Natalie Diaz, Kenji Jasper, and Rose Bunch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Speed: the most demonized--and misunderstood--drug in the land. Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Yet speed--crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast--is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad. From its dueling roots of pharmaceutical miracle cure and Californian biker-gang scourge to contemporary Ivy League campuses and high school chem labs, punk rock clubs to the military-industrial complex, suburban households to tin-can ghettos, it crosses all ethnicities, genders, and geographies--from immigrants and heartlanders punching double factory shifts to clandestine border warlords, doctors to bomber pilots, prostitutes to housewives, T-girls to teenagers, Academy Award-nominated actors and the mansion on the hill to the poorest Indian on the rez--making it not only the most essentially American narcotic, but the most deceivingly sundry literary matter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The subject of speed is so innately intimidating yet so undeniably present that it begs to be written about. It is no secret that the drug has historically tuned up the lives of writers, including Jack Kerouac, Susan Sontag, Philip K. Dick, and scores more. Too rarely, though, has it been written about, and its jolt to the bones of the American landscape continues to peak. Akashic Books dares to bring forth the first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers--the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry, the skewed American Dream going up in flames, and even some accounts of pure joy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoseph Mattson is the author of the story collection \u003ci\u003eEat Hell\u003c\/i\u003e (Narrow Books) and the novel \u003ci\u003eEmpty the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e (A Barnacle Book), which comes with a soundtrack by Drag City recording artist Six Organs of Admittance and was a finalist for the 2010 SCIBA Fiction Award. He is the literary editor of \u003ci\u003eTwo Letters: Collection of Art \u0026amp; Writing, Volume Two\u003c\/i\u003e (Narrow Books), and his novel \u003ci\u003eCourting the Jaguar\u003c\/i\u003e will be published by Barnacle in 2011. Mattson has also been shortlisted for DZANC's 20 Writers to Watch list, an alternative to the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e's 20 under 40 list. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 300\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.2 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 29, 2011\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42166454943879,"sku":"9781617750281","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/d2c3ae99e9257b979cc204ed84b296b3.webp?v=1733320962","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/the-speed-chronicles-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}