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20th out of 22 books
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8 voters
Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World
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.
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
October 30th 2002
by Harvard University Press
(first published 2001)
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All the stuff you never knew about the histories of drugs, especially alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, marijuana and opium.
How could opium and marijuana be benign in India for centuries before the british arrived, but destroy entire cities afterwards?
Why was alcohol pushed by rich and powerful onto the poor and the colonized as a form of wage slavery, but only up to the industrial revolution, when it become the devil's drink?
How did the taxing alcohol and tobacco through expensive licensing fees ac...more
How could opium and marijuana be benign in India for centuries before the british arrived, but destroy entire cities afterwards?
Why was alcohol pushed by rich and powerful onto the poor and the colonized as a form of wage slavery, but only up to the industrial revolution, when it become the devil's drink?
How did the taxing alcohol and tobacco through expensive licensing fees ac...more
Jul 23, 2011
Jon
added it
Lots of great information here. (Did you know the Marquis de Sade used cacao suppositories? That FDR's grandfather was an opium smuggler? That Emma Goldman smoked 2 packs a day? That Franco paid his Berber troops partly in hashish? I didn't.) Even more impressive is the way Courtwright uses his many varied sources to present a coherent history of drugs and their impact on society in a relatively short space. I especially liked his discussion of the Third World favorites that have never made it t...more
Forces of Habit is a social history rather than a neuro-physio-chemical discussion of a range of psychoactive drugs,not limited to legal ones (alcohol and tobacco) or illegal ones (cocaine, marijuna, heroin)that are most commonly problematic. Courtwright appropriately includes coverage of chocolate, cocoa, tea, and sugar as addictive substances. Unlike most social science books on psychoactive drugs that focus on psychological, sociological, and legal aspects, Courtwright places much needed atte...more
'Forces of habit' focusses on the psychoactive revolution that occured after the discovery of the New World. It's mainly about trafficing and how some drugs are made deviant and others are not. Even though it is an interesting read I hoped it gave more insight on how the general public thought about these drugs, it's legislation and it's deviance. By times I thought it was quite difficult to read because there was no real chronology it Courtwright's writing nor was there a good arrangment of sub...more
Jan 26, 2011
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
political-social-science
This is a good, accessible socio-economic study of the history of the global drug trades--a fine background for any informed discussion of drug policy.
As regards the United States, which has effectively set global drug policies since World War II, the ostensible purposes of drug policies are so radically at variance with the actual consequences of these policies that it is fair to turn the equation around. Rather than thinking of the avowed intents of the policy formulators, think of the real e...more
As regards the United States, which has effectively set global drug policies since World War II, the ostensible purposes of drug policies are so radically at variance with the actual consequences of these policies that it is fair to turn the equation around. Rather than thinking of the avowed intents of the policy formulators, think of the real e...more
This book is great fun not least because of the author's extraordinary skill in the efficient delivery of interesting facts. The opening chapters which detail the origins of the world's major drugs are among the most informative I've read. The second half of the book while still engrossing is a less comprehensive historic analysis of drug use and prohibition. Courtwright concentrates on economics at the expense of culture emphasizing production and commerce rather than demand and moral oppositio...more
Jan 23, 2009
Aaron
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
general public, history students, drug policy students
Courtwright does an excellent job to cover the history of psychoactive drugs and how they have shaped the modern world. He doesn't advocate for any particular viewpoint, whether political, social, religious, moral. Instead, he explores the history of various ongoing debates and issues relating to drugs, and evenhandedly covers the many sides of each. Perhaps the best thing is that he makes the material interesting. He shows why past issues remain relevant today, and how they shaped modern policy...more
Fascinating synopsis of six substances in our world which are habit-forming, including sugar, tea, coffee, marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Interesting conclusions about the human condition in general and why we are drawn to things that make us feel better, despite knowing their long-term negative effects. Also insightful social commentary.
“Nature is parsimonious with pleasure . . . ”
A highly readable comprehensive history on the interplay between habitation, addiction, money, and cultures. Deals with sugar, caffeine, tobacco, coca, alcohol, opiates, cannabis and to a lesser extent: qat, hallucinogens, and absinthe.
A must for understanding colonialism and the world today.
A highly readable comprehensive history on the interplay between habitation, addiction, money, and cultures. Deals with sugar, caffeine, tobacco, coca, alcohol, opiates, cannabis and to a lesser extent: qat, hallucinogens, and absinthe.
A must for understanding colonialism and the world today.
Have you ever read history... ON WEED??!! I have not, but this is a pretty good book.
Interesting and eye opening!
I haven't finished this one but it needs to get back to the library. This book is full on information about the history of drug trade and addiction. Very interesting. I learned about events in history I had never heard of before. Quite eye opening. It's long, and is so full of information it can be overwhelming, but if you are interested in the topic, this book certainly covers it!
Really good historical account of the trade with legal and illegal drugs world wide, going back to around the time of the middle ages. Maybe too much focused on the economic side of the trade for my tastes, talking about taxes and that sort of stuff, but there’s a good measure of sociological and anthropological takes on the subject also.
I read it for a class. Interesting, in that it outlines the social history for all different types of drugs, including caffeine and sugar (if I remember correctly). Discusses how drugs and the black market system created by the War on Drugs reinforces certain groups' power while leaving other groups "excluded".
Very informative book on the worldwide spread of addicting substances of many continents since the period of European colonization.
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David Courtwright is known for his books on drug use and drug policy in American and world history (Dark Paradise, Addicts Who Survived, and Forces of Habit) and for his books on the special problems of frontier environments (Violent Land and Sky as Frontier). His most recent book, No Right Turn, chronicles the tumultuous politics and surprising outcome of the culture war that engulfed America in...more
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