Pursuit of Oblivion PA

by Davenport-Hines,Richard

• ISBN13: 9780393325454
• ISBN10: 0393325458
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

Spanning five centuries and several continents in a sweeping portrait of addiction, The Pursuit of Oblivion traces the history of the use and abuse of narcotics, revealing their subtle transformation from untested medicines to sources of idle pleasure and, relatively recently, to illegal substances. Richard Davenport-Hines, an eminent, prize-winning historian, uncovers the centrality of drug abuse in our modern industrial society, from the drug habits of Charles Dickens and John F. Kennedy to today's $400 billion annual worldwide trade in illicit drugs (the same volume as the oil industry). A vivid portrayal of the people and events that have shaped the history of narcotics, The Pursuit of Oblivion reveals that, contrary to the assumption underlying current drug policies, our need to escape reality and our body's need for physical pleasure are both ineradicable aspects of our humanity, unchangeable by government initiative.

Author Biography

Richabd Davenport-Hinds is the recipient of the Wolfson Prize for History and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Table of Contents

Prologue	11	(10)
ONE Early History	21	(22)
TWO Opium during the Enlightenment	43	(18)
THREE The Patent Age of New Inventions	61	(38)
FOUR Nerves, Needles and Victorian Doctors	99	(32)
FIVE Chemistry	131	(21)
SIX Degeneration	152	(43)
SEVEN The Dawn of Prohibition	195	(31)
EIGHT Law-breaking	226	(26)
NINE Trafficking	252	(47)
TEN The Age of Anxiety	299	(45)
ELEVEN The First Drugs Czar	344	(24)
TWELVE British Drug Scenes	368	(52)
THIRTEEN Presidential Drugs Wars	420	(55)
FOURTEEN So Passé	475	(22)
Acknowledgements	497	(2)
Notes	499	(50)
Bibliographic Note	549	(4)
Index	553