The cover of “Reefer Madness” was a mistake, one of the few pitfalls of an overall decent book.

Eric Schlosser’s new book, “Reefer Madness,” has a bright yellow cover crowded with the thesis and supposed premise of this book, and why studying the black market is essential to understanding our economy and ourselves. Naturally, you should still read this book before judging.

That being said, Schlosser tries to create a cohesive argument with three essays on the most prominent items in the black market: Marijuana, migrant workers and pornography. Unfortunately, trying to understand the invisible sector of the market would take much more than a 310-page book could even begin to fathom.

The three essays were all previously published in various publications throughout the 1990s. Schlosser ties them together with an introduction and an epilogue, but it still feels like a “best of” collection rather than a focused attempt to understand the underground market.

“Reefer Madness,” the first essay, discusses America’s favorite drug, marijuana. What Schlosser hopes people get out of reading this are the dangers of smoking it — not the physical or mental effects, but the harsh legal repercussions that go unnoticed. In many states, it is possible to get a longer sentence for simple possession than robbery, rape or murder.

“In the Strawberry Fields” talks about migrant workers in California. He interviews migrant workers, finding most of them well below the poverty line and too far in debt to ever escape. Only 32 pages are devoted to the subject, yet it feels like his most passionate. Instead of research, Schlosser smartly relies on giving depth and personality to those in the fields of California, making this essay the most powerful.

The last essay, titled “An Empire of the Obscene,” documents the rise and fall of Reuben Sturman. Although his name is not known widely, Sturman paved the way for an industry.

He began in Cleveland, Ohio, selling comic books to stores from the trunk of his car. He quickly learned of a relatively untapped demand in the city for adult products. He began selling adult magazines, expanding time and time again as different technologies took the helm. By the 1970s, Sturman owned an international conglomerate selling everything from peepshow booths to hard-core videos. It took agents in the IRS nearly two decades to finally bring him down for tax evasion.

“Obscene” is by far Schlosser’s most in-depth and researched essay. He gives a fairly objective look into the history of America’s most controversial industry and exposes the truths in human desires that it meets.

On each subject, Schlosser shows a deep understanding and knowledge of the businesses involved. He also writes strong opinions on reform laws and the ineptitude of certain government officials. It is hard to argue with these opinions, though, when they are based on hard facts and statistics (his notes and bibliography take up over 60 pages).

Even though his research is in-depth, there is no sense of connection between the three essays, despite falling together in a broad field. The book feels like filler material to hold readers over until he writes his next book on the American prison system.

The book is still worth reading because it exposes so many truths about ourselves that we tend to look over. If our black market is so big and so powerful, then only through knowledge can we stop exploiting ourselves and others.