Book cover of The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980

Book description

In the tradition of The Wire, the "utterly absorbing" (The New York Times) story of the cinematic transformation of Miami, one of America's bustling cities-rife with a drug epidemic, a burgeoning refugee crisis, and police brutality-from journalist and award-winning author Nicholas Griffin.

Miami, Florida, famed for its blue skies and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Year of Dangerous Days as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Year of Dangerous Days is another of those city books that braid together several storylines into a single vibrant portrait. This time the city is Miami, and the year of crisis is 1980, when the Florida metropolis faced a toxic combination of racial unrest, cocaine-fueled gang violence, and an uncontrollable refugee crisis.

Nicholas Griffin anchors his narrative on a few central characters – a police captain, a prominent journalist, a drug lord, and the city's dynamic mayor – creating a cinematic account of a city that somehow managed to emerge from its annus horribilis scarred and chastened, but primed…

If you love The Year of Dangerous Days...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Year of Dangerous Days?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 76 books like The Year of Dangerous Days.

Browse books like The Year of Dangerous Days

Book cover of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
Book cover of Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country
Book cover of Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso: A Tale of Race, Sex, and Violence in America

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,211

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Year of Dangerous Days, you might also like...

Book cover of Pinned

Pinned by Liz Faraim,

“Rowdy” Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian who has been single for twenty years and is trying to date again.

At the end of a long, exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse…

Book cover of Reddy

Reddy by J L Wilson,

This is for those readers who like unusual settings and independent female characters in mid-life.

5 book lists we think you will like!