'Lucy Inglis has done a wonderful job bringing together a wide
range of sources to tell the history of the most exciting and
dangerous plants in the world. Telling the story of opium tells us
much about our faults and foibles as humans - our willingness to
experiment; our ability to become addicts; our pursuit of money.
This book tells us more than about opium; it tells us about
ourselves.' - Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads 'The only
thing that is good is poppies. They are gold.' Poppy tears, opium,
heroin, fentanyl: humankind has been in thrall to the 'Milk of
Paradise' for millennia. The latex of papaver somniferum is a
bringer of sleep, of pleasurable lethargy, of relief from pain -
and hugely addictive. A commodity without rival, it is renewable,
easy to extract, transport and refine, and subject to an insatiable
global demand. No other substance in the world is as simple to
produce or as profitable. It is the basis of a gargantuan industry
built upon a shady underworld, but ultimately it is a farm-gate
material that lives many lives before it reaches the branded
blister packet, the intravenous drip or the scorched and filthy
spoon. Many of us will end our lives dependent on it. In Milk of
Paradise, acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes readers on
an epic journey from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and
Afghanistan, from Sanskrit to pop, from poppy tears to smack, from
morphine to today's synthetic opiates. It is a tale of addiction,
trade, crime, sex, war, literature, medicine and, above all, money.
And, as this ambitious, wide-ranging and compelling account vividly
shows, the history of opium is our history and it speaks to us of
who we are.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
