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The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Social History of Drugs

The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Social History of Drugs

by RichardDavenport-Hines (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2002

    $4.21
Synopsis

A history of drug-taking, telling the story across five centuries of addicts and users: monarchs, prime ministers, great writers and composers, wounded soldiers, overworked physicians, oppressed housewives, exhausted labourers, high-powered businessmen, playboys, sex workers, pop stars, seedy losers, stressed adolescents, defiant schoolchildren, the victims of the ghetto, and happy young people on a spree. It is also the history of one bad idea, prohibition. 'You'll find almost everything you ever wanted to know about drugs in this work, except how to get hold of them' Simon Garfield, FINANCIAL TIMES 'Everyone with any influence on government policy should read this book and wake up before it is too late' Phillip Knightley, SUNDAY TIMES

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 480
 Edition: New
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 16 May 2002
ISBN 10: 1842125524
ISBN 13: 9781842125526
Book Overview: 'It is easily the best general account of the subject...as ever with Davenport-Hines, THE PURSUIT OF OBLIVION is thoroughly researched and expertly written...(it) is a treasure chest of little-known facts and delectable quotations' Roy Porter, LITERARY REVIEW 'Richard Davenport-Hines has written what, without doubt, will become a defining work. His research is meticulous, his scope is all-embracing and his subtext - that government agencies, politicians on the make, muck-raking hacks and pharmaceutical conglomerates have failed to regulate the basic human desire to alter consciousness on occasion - is as sharp as a needle and as pungent as smoke' Iain Millar, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY.

Media Reviews
THE PURSUIT OF OBLIVION by Richard Davenport-Hines LS Richard was on In our Time (BBC Radio 4) on Thursday 16 May and we've had a brilliant review in theGuardian: ...comes with the implicit Davenport-Hines guarantee of hard work, deep thought, and good writing... This is a book which politicians should be forced to read. Nick Lezard, Guardian '...an epic romp...This is a well researched work and it is difficult to argue with the underlying attitude that criticises prohibition.'Martin Tierney, The Herald A powerful examination ofthe more extreme palliatives that we use to help us cope with everyday life.
Author Bio
Richard Davenport-Hines is a past winner of the Wolfson Prize for History and contributes regularly to the TLS, SUNDAY TIMES, INDEPENDENT and NATURE.