The Pursuit of Oblivion - A Global History of Narcotics, 1500-2000 (Hardcover)

A history of narcotics and illicit stimulants. Drawing on a wide array of sources, the book shows how narcotics such as opium, morphine, cannabis, heroine, cocaine, amphetamine, LSD and ecstasy came to have such an impact on western society and how, in turn, that society has attempted to cope with the arrival of each.;Although serious in purpose, the volume contains a range of strange, amusing and macabre stories. It reveals the intimate drug habits of Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Walter Scott, Dickens, Gladstone, Freud, George IV, Queen Victoria, Marilyn Monroe, John Kenneth Galbraith, W.H. Auden and Anthony Eden (to name just a few); the role of enterprises such as the East India Company, Jardine-Matheson and Glaxo in distributing drugs (especially opiates); the part played by war in expanding drug use; the origins of the different policies of Britain and the United States, Holland and Switzerland, Thailand and Indonesia; the routes by which narcotics are transported around the world (including an account of the murderous career of the Colombian cocaine warlord, Pablo Escobar); and the evolution of attitudes towards, and taboos about, illicit substances.

General

Imprint:	Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	October 2001
Authors:	Richard Davenport-Hines
Dimensions:	234 x 156mm (L x W)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	320
ISBN-13:	978-0-297-64375-3
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Illness & addiction: social aspects > Drug addiction & substance abuse Books > History > History of specific subjects > General Promotions
LSN:	0-297-64375-4
Barcode:	9780297643753

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