With The Opioid Crisis, Newton (Univ. of Michigan and Harvard Univ.) contributes to an ongoing series of reference titles from ABC-CLIO, "Contemporary World Issues." As with the rest of the series, the text is geared toward undergraduate students; it gives an overview of the history of the opioid crisis as well as summaries of present controversies and potential solutions surrounding the crisis. Following these are several essays offering various perspectives on the issue, a section profiling key individual and organizational players, and finally a section containing reference data and primary source documents. The series format using multiple subject matter subheadings makes information retrieval from the comprehensive list of resources easy by design. As suggested by the author, college and even high school students will find the information valuable and well organized; this text represents a good introduction to scientific literature. On the whole, the book is comprehensive without being overwhelming at any reading level. Considering current concerns surrounding the opioid epidemic, this volume will serve as a reliable and handy reference to pertinent aspects of opiate drug abuse. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates and general readers. --Richard S. Kowalczyk, formerly, University of Michigan