The Year of Dangerous Days:

Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980

The harrowing story of the rise and fall of one of America’s most popular destination cities—rife with police brutality, a drug epidemic, and a bulging refugee crisis—The Year of Dangerous Days is a riveting blend of urgent social commentary and cinematic drama, from the award-winning author of Ping Pong Diplomacy.

Today, Miami, Florida, famed for its blue skies and bikinis, is already one of the most popular vacation spots, with nearly 23 million tourists visiting annually. But few people have any idea how this unofficial capital of Latin American came to be.

The Year of Dangerous Days is a fascinating chronicle of a pivotal but forgotten year in American history. With a cast that includes iconic characters such as Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, and Janet Reno, this slice of history is brought to vibrant life through intertwining personal stories. At the core, there’s Edna Buchanan, a reporter for the Miami Herald who breaks the story on the wrongful murder of a black man, and the shocking police cover-up; Captain Marshall Frank, the homicide captain tasked with investigating the murder; and Mayor Maurice Ferre, the charismatic politician who watches the case, and the city, fall apart.

A roller coaster of national politics and international diplomacy, these three figures cross paths and socio-economic lines as their city explodes in one of the worst race riots in American history—as over 120,000 Cuban refugees land on the Miami coast, and as drug cartels flood the city with cocaine and infiltrate all levels of law enforcement. In a battle of wills, Buchanan has to keep up with the 150% murder rate increase; Captain Frank has to scrub and rebuild his police department; and Mayor Ferre must find a way to reconstruct his smoldering city. Against all odds, they persevere, and a stronger, more vibrant Miami begins to emerge. But the new Miami—literally built on drug money—will have severe ramifications for the rest of the country.

Deeply researched and covering many timely issues including police brutality, immigration, and the drug crisis, The Year of Dangerous Days is both a clarion call and a creation story of one of America’s most iconic cities.

Praise & Reviews

“Utterly absorbing … startling …  There is never a dull moment.  It’s impossible to read Griffin’s timely and searing account without thinking about its implications for our current moment.”
—NEW YORK TIMES

“Absolutely astonishing … an irresistible gem of a topic … You will not find a more readable, headlong, intoxicating, serious, funny, cautionary tale published this year or any year. For the sheer old-fashioned joy of scarfing up a book without pause – read this one.”
—FORBES MAGAZINE

“A sharp, smart chronicle of Miami in 1980 … a portrait that captures the tumult, the tension and the strange exhilaration of that year…”
—MIAMI NEW TIMES

“The Year of Dangerous Days chronicles one year in the city’s history … oozing severe ramifications for the rest of the country.”
— FORTUNE MAGAZINE  (‘7 Books to Read in July’)

“Griffin, a marvelous writer of fiction and nonfiction, has crafted a book that explains how Miami evolved within a single year …. Griffin writes nonfiction with a spice of fiction.  His character development excels.”
— NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS

“Fascinating … Filled with social and political themes that are still relevant today, Griffin shows how Miami is a city that emulates the principles of true perseverance.”
— OCEAN DRIVE MAGAZINE

–“Miami remains one of the continent’s most fascinating cities, and anyone wishing to understand how it go that way, and the persistent social divides that have shaped it, should read Griffin’s captivating account of 1980.”
—CRIME READS

“Griffin employs his trade with gusto in this deeply investigated account of real American carnage at the height of the drug war. . .. A propulsive story about the dangerous ways people learn to live together. . . An engrossing, peek-between-your-fingers history of an American city on the edge.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS

“In this cinematic chronicle, Griffin examines how an influx of immigrants, violent race riots, and a cocaine epidemic all collided in Miami in 1980 and led to the radical transformation of the city … This vivid and well-documented urban history offers hope that crisis can bring about lasting change.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“An excellent read … Griffin’s narrative comes across like a gripping crime drama.  The parallels between what’s been happening in U.S. municipalities this summer and the events in the South Florida metropolis of 40 years ago are uncanny. In reading “The Year of Dangerous Days,” one would think author Nicholas Griffin has a touch of clairvoyance.”
—FREDERICKSBURG FREE-LANCE STAR

“In this addictively eye-opening work, Griffin covers the entire gamut of Miami’s short yet rambunctious story … Like the popular crime series, The Wire and True Detective or any true crime documentary really, Griffin inhabits the minds of those charged with investigating, covering, and defending the case with an uncomfortable ease.  And you just can’t help but feel like the book reads like fiction, made only more riveting by the fact that every detail is 100% true … a must-read.”
—CULTURE CRUSADERS

“There’s no Hollywood sheen on ‘The Year of Dangerous Days’, even with its back-page comparison to ‘The Wire’, something that also feels like an accurate point of reference and not just smart copy … an achievement … fascinating – rarely do history books feel so timely upon release.”
– INSIDE HOOK

“This is the work of a master storyteller, let loose on one of the most vivid and revealing chapters in American history. Like Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City, Nicholas Griffin seizes you with his first Technicolor sentences and never lets you go. Engrossing, morally serious, and artful in the best ways.”
—EVAN OSNOS, AUTHOR OF AGE OF AMBITION: CHASING FORTUNE, TRUTH, AND FAITH IN THE NEW CHINA, WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE

“Nicholas Griffin’s cinematic and infinitely readable account of Miami’s annus horribilis of 1980 demonstrates that what does not kill our cities may end up making them stronger. This is a vivid tale of how a confluence of urban disasters actually helped Miami become the dynamic international city it is today.”
—GARY KRIST, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF EMPIRE OF SIN

“The Year of Dangerous Days is remarkable. It sinks you into a time and a place while surrounding you with an irresistible cast of characters, from Fidel Castro to the unforgettable cop reporter Edna Buchanan. Drug cartels, race riots, Cuban refugees—this book has it all. Combining Florida noir with a literary sensibility makes Griffin’s story both rollicking and profound.”
—JONATHAN MAHLER, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BRONX IS BURNING

“This book transports you into an astonishing world of ruthless hitmen, beleaguered cops, desperate migrants, hard-bitten reporters, and struggling political leaders. In their interconnected stories, Nicholas Griffin finds a striking resonance with our current world, and a crucial origin point for issues of race, immigration, and the drug war. As enthralling as any fiction, The Year of Dangerous Days melds deep research with brilliant storytelling to capture the soul of an American city on the brink.”
—EVAN RATLIFF, AUTHOR OF THE MASTERMIND, A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“Sharp and engrossing … What we see up close in ‘The Year of Dangerous Days’ is what citizens – not government wonks or bureaucratic strategists think they see – experienced.”
—BLUE HERON JOURNAL