Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.38 (813 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0674010035 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-07-07 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
What drives the drug trade, and how has it come to be what it is today? A global history of the acquisition of progressively more potent means of altering ordinary waking consciousness, this book is the first to provide the big picture of the discovery, interchange, and exploitation of the planet's psychoactive resources, from tea and kola to opiates and amphetamines.
From Library Journal Historian Courtwright (Violent Land) ranges widely across more than four centuries and the world to chart the "psychoactive revolution" that made ever more potent drugs available to all classes of people and redefined the meaning and means of consciousness, and even social conscience. Miller, Saint Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Drugs were commerce and currency and moved from geographically limited areas of cultivation to worldwide consumption, with ever more effi
"Ditto" according to A Customer. I agree with the review above- an excellent history of psychoactive drug use that I plan to use in my psychopharmacology course. A fun read for anyone who's ever wondered about the cultural history of drugs.. The historian of social deviance strikes again! Damon Jasperson I was attracted to this book originally because I had read one of Courtwright's other books, "Violent Land," and was very much impressed. Courtwright seems to be building a career on the study of the historical dimensions of deviance--which is important for all of us when we try to look at today's problems in perspective. A major theme of "Forces of Habit" is that some dru. David Kleist said Engaging, Fascinating, and Highly Recommended. The more factual information one knows about a subject, the more clearly one can think about that subject. No one confronting the problems of our time can ignore that of drug abuse. As a teacher, I know all too many of my students are caught up in this peculiar psychoactive underworld. Courtwright's book provides a great deal of insight into the historical and internationa