Is opium a vile curse on society, a blessed medicine from God, or
possibly both? This fresh history offers surprising new insights.
Opium and its derivatives morphine and heroin have destroyed,
corrupted, and killed individuals, families, communities, and even
whole nations. And yet, for most of its long history, opium has
also been humanity's most effective means of alleviating physical
and mental pain. This extraordinary book encompasses the entire
history of the world's most fascinating drug, from the first
evidence of poppy cultivation by stone-age man to the present-day
opium trade in Afghanistan. Dr. Thomas Dormandy tells the story
with verve and insight, uncovering the strange power of opiates to
motivate major conflicts yet also inspire great art and medical
breakthroughs, to trigger the rise of global criminal networks yet
also revolutionize attitudes toward well-being. Opium: Reality's
Dark Dream traverses the globe and the centuries, exploring opium's
role in colonialism, the Chinese Opium Wars, laudanum-inspired
sublime Romantic poetry, American "Yellow Peril" fears, the rise of
the Mafia and the black market, 1960s counterculture, and more. Dr.
Dormandy also recounts exotic or sad stories of individual
addiction. Throughout the book the author emphasizes opium's
complex, valuable relationship with developments in medicine,
health, and disease, highlighting the perplexing dual nature of the
drug as both the cause and relief of great suffering in widely
diverse civilizations.
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