nationbooksprojectofnation
large_book

Buy It Online
    Amazon >
    Barnes & Noble >
    IndieBound.org >
    Powells.com >

Altered States of America

Outlaws and Icons, Hitmakers and Hitmen



Richard Stratton
October 2005     ISBN: 1560257776


Whether talking to Norman Mailer or a prison guard, Hunter S. Thompson or a drug smuggler, Sean Penn or a CIA agent, Stratton has an uncommon, empathetic understanding of his subjects. He mines the heart of another America, a place far removed from suburbs and brightly lit main streets.

Among the dramatic subjects outlaw-turned-journalist Stratton takes on in Altered States of America are Greg Scarpe, a murderous Columbo mob hitman who was secretly an FBI informant; Bonecrusher, a guard at Corcoran penitentiary who witnessed bloody gladiator fights between convicts; the top-secret MK-ULTRA program in which the CIA secretly dosed unsuspecting civilians and its own agents with LSD; and Joe Stassi, America's oldest living gangster, who was ordered to murder his best friend.

About the Authors

Richard Stratton was arrested and convicted in 1982 under the Kingpin Statute for importation of marijuana. Originally sentenced to twenty-five years without parole, Stratton became a jailhouse lawyer and had his sentence voided. His novel, Smack Goddess, was published in 1990, the same year that he was released from prison. Stratton co-wrote and produced the feature film Slam, which won the Camera d'Or at Cannes and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the Emmy Award-winning Thug Life in DC and many other documentaries, and created the Showtime series "Street Time," based on his own life. He is the founding editor of Prison Life, and has written for GQ, Esquire, Newsweek, Details, Penthouse and Story. Stratton lives in New York City.



Watch the video from our past conversations, interviews and events. Includes items from The Nation Institute and TomDispatch. Click here.



Follow us on twitter at @nationbooks or @nationinstitute



Become a fan of Nation Books on Facebook

signup

for our FREE e-mail newsletter, a monthly dispatch of events, excerpts, commentary by Nation Books and Nation Institute writers.



Eugene Richards Wins 2010 World Press Photo of the Year Award

April 23 - January 16 | Exhibition around the world
Institute Fellow and award-winning photographer is the winner of the 2010 World Press Photo of the Year contest. Every year following the World Press Photo Contest, the winning images go on tour. The exhibition is officially opened in Amsterdam as part of the award ceremony in April and can be seen at venues around the globe until the next year. The tour program takes in approximately 100 cities in 45 countries and is still expanding.

September 24 - October 5
Fatima Bhutto: Author Tour
(Across the United States)
Please join Fatima Bhutto as she travels from New York to Massachusetts, Oregon and California on an author tour to discuss her new memoir, Songs of Blood and Sword. MORE

October 5 | 7 pm
Herding Donkeys: Howard Dean and Ari Berman on the Future of the Democratic Party
(92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York City)
Nation Institute Fellow Ari Berman talks about his new book, Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics, with former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean. MORE