Hello, I'm Chloe Veltman and this is NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Donovan X. Ramsey's

non-fiction book, when crack was king, a people's history of a misunderstood era, looks at how

the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early 90s impacted communities across the United

States, especially low-income black communities.

The book is hard-hitting, but it is also very human. It tells the stories of individuals who lived

in neighborhoods ravaged by the drug. Ramsey isn't an apologist for drug dealers, but as the author

tells NPR's Ayesha Rusasko, neither were they super predator

kingpins.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories

of real people, helping you

understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever

you get your podcasts. One of Donovan X. Ramsey's earliest childhood memories was of Michelle

from down the street. Every night as I was falling asleep, she would start, you know, her activity and that consisted

of playing loud music. She loved, if only you knew, by Patty LaBelle and she would play it on a

loop. And I felt connected to her. And I, you know, came to understand as I got older that

she was dealing with addiction,

that she was a crack addict.

Decades later, he's written a book called When Crack was King, a people's history of a

misunderstood era.

It's a work of nonfiction told through the eyes of several people, including an addict,

...