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The Pursuit of Oblivion
Davenport-Hines’ landmark book draws on a dazzlingly wide range of sources to show how drugs such as opium, morphine, cannabis, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, LSD and ecstasy came to have such an impact on Western society and how, in turn, that society has attempted to cope with the arrival of each.
Although it should become the standard account of the subject, this book is no dry academic tome: Davenport-Hines is one of the great historical story tellers and The Pursuit of Oblivion, though serious in purpose, contains a dazzling array of strange, amusing and macabre stories. It reveals the intimate drug habits of Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Walter Scott, Dickens, Gladstone, Freud, George IV, Queen Victoria, Marilyn Monroe, W. H. Auden and Anthony Eden (to name just a few); the role of enterprises such as the East India Company and Glaxo in distributing drugs (especially opiates); the part played by war in expanding drug use; the origins of the different policies of Britain and the United States, Holland and Switzerland, Thailand and Indonesia; the routes by which narcotics are transported around the world (including a brilliant account of the murderous career of the Colombian cocaine warlord, Pablo Escobar); and the evolution of attitudes towards, and taboos about, illicit substances. Spanning centuries, continents and empires, wars and revolutions, immigrants and aristocrats, The Pursuit of Oblivion neither celebrates nor condemns the use of narcotics. It concludes with an assessment of why, despite increasingly harsh sanctions, illegal drug use continues to increase and considers where law-makers go from here.
466 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 23, 2013
This book is an entertaining, but uneven, attempt to tell the story of the use of psychotropic drugs, worldwide, since 1500. Being under 600 pages in length, such would probably be an impossible task and in fact the author does not accomplish it. Instead, the greatest focus is on the last two centuries, on the USA and on the UK in particular.
The first several chapters are the historical ones, constituting a substantially anecdotal survey of the discoveries and uses of mind and mood altering drugs. As such, it is hardly balanced. One doubts, for instance, that the impression that all British prime ministers--and a whole host of other world-historical figures--were addicts is an accurate one. Still, many were. Indeed, until very late in the 19th century, such drugs were seen positively as medicines or as simply some of the joys of life, much as one might regard fine wines today. It was only in 1875, in Denver, that one such drug, opium, was set apart, its use restricted by law--and that substantially as an expression of racist rejection of immigrant Chinese practice.
The end of WWI, the Versailles Conference and the establishment of the League of Nations led to attempts at international regulation and restriction. Ironically, despite its rejection of the League, these efforts were led by the United States of America--a role which this country maintains to the present.
The bulk of the book concerns the period of living memory and the hegemonic influence of the USA in attempting to stamp out drug abuse and abusers, an influence which the author finds to have been entirely misguided and destructive, particularly during the Nixon (himself an abuser not only of illegally obtained drugs, but also of alcohol), Reagan and Bush administrations.
Contrary to the subtitle, "A Global History of Narcotics", this book does not confine itself to opiates and their analogues. Instead, the term is used as the liars and ignoramuses of Congress and the DEA use it, to include whole classes of mind and mood altering drugs, many quite benign, which they oppose in stark contrast to the profitable chemicals, many quite malign, pushed by the pharmaceutical corporations.
The first several chapters are the historical ones, constituting a substantially anecdotal survey of the discoveries and uses of mind and mood altering drugs. As such, it is hardly balanced. One doubts, for instance, that the impression that all British prime ministers--and a whole host of other world-historical figures--were addicts is an accurate one. Still, many were. Indeed, until very late in the 19th century, such drugs were seen positively as medicines or as simply some of the joys of life, much as one might regard fine wines today. It was only in 1875, in Denver, that one such drug, opium, was set apart, its use restricted by law--and that substantially as an expression of racist rejection of immigrant Chinese practice.
The end of WWI, the Versailles Conference and the establishment of the League of Nations led to attempts at international regulation and restriction. Ironically, despite its rejection of the League, these efforts were led by the United States of America--a role which this country maintains to the present.
The bulk of the book concerns the period of living memory and the hegemonic influence of the USA in attempting to stamp out drug abuse and abusers, an influence which the author finds to have been entirely misguided and destructive, particularly during the Nixon (himself an abuser not only of illegally obtained drugs, but also of alcohol), Reagan and Bush administrations.
Contrary to the subtitle, "A Global History of Narcotics", this book does not confine itself to opiates and their analogues. Instead, the term is used as the liars and ignoramuses of Congress and the DEA use it, to include whole classes of mind and mood altering drugs, many quite benign, which they oppose in stark contrast to the profitable chemicals, many quite malign, pushed by the pharmaceutical corporations.
December 29, 2007
I learned so much reading this book I don't even know where to begin! It was such a fun read; it was packed full of information that was well organized and presented cleverly. Although I've been anti-prohibition for a long time, this book really solidified that feeling. It's got tons of information, it's extremely well researched, and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't know a thing about the drugs debate or culture.
July 3, 2011
This is an extremely thorough and long history book, and it has a lot of the characteristics of a stereotypical and traditional history book, including that it can be super slow reading and long-winded.
However, the flip side of that is that the book is very complete. It turns out to be also infuriating, because the history of narcotics is the history of puritan prohibitionists using the most misguided strategies to stop use of these substances, and this has been going on for at least a century now with nothing good coming of it. In fact the book details many points over the last hundred years in which government drug policy has made things much much worse.
However, the flip side of that is that the book is very complete. It turns out to be also infuriating, because the history of narcotics is the history of puritan prohibitionists using the most misguided strategies to stop use of these substances, and this has been going on for at least a century now with nothing good coming of it. In fact the book details many points over the last hundred years in which government drug policy has made things much much worse.
July 24, 2007
This book was really, really fascinating, and I'm annoyed that I lent my copy out to an unknown party who never returned it. It's a very well-thought-out take on something most people have only emotional (as opposed to reasoned) reactions to...
November 18, 2015
A very readable and exhaustive summary of sources for most drug cultures, tracing their rises and metamorphoses, both from the market standpoint and cultural view/expression. A great reference material that flowers into a wonderful bibliography. (552 pp)
370-371
The fight against drug addiction must be handled in a totally different way and be looked upon from the human side. Do not pursue these addicts, as it will drive them to the dealers, but offer these people help. Addicts are not criminals but wretches, the morally weak, most of whom did not become addicted through any fault of their own, and lack the power to suppress the inclination...Along with measures taken to trace these people, a way must be found to give them a withdrawal program and by means to follow up, send them back into society, as has already been done with so many others...State money will surely be spent more efficiently thta way than on an expensive and elaborate control machinery used to chase doctors, druggists, and patients, while not solving the problem itself.
403 [regarding an addict] He had reached the position where nothing else is as interesting and everything else seems less real in comparison.
461
[Beckett Hypothesis]
The seed is the drug and the availability, the soil is the stressed personality, and the climate is the microclimate of opinion about the drug. If all three are right, heroin addiction can take root. If one is wrong, it is almost impossible."
370-371
The fight against drug addiction must be handled in a totally different way and be looked upon from the human side. Do not pursue these addicts, as it will drive them to the dealers, but offer these people help. Addicts are not criminals but wretches, the morally weak, most of whom did not become addicted through any fault of their own, and lack the power to suppress the inclination...Along with measures taken to trace these people, a way must be found to give them a withdrawal program and by means to follow up, send them back into society, as has already been done with so many others...State money will surely be spent more efficiently thta way than on an expensive and elaborate control machinery used to chase doctors, druggists, and patients, while not solving the problem itself.
403 [regarding an addict] He had reached the position where nothing else is as interesting and everything else seems less real in comparison.
461
[Beckett Hypothesis]
The seed is the drug and the availability, the soil is the stressed personality, and the climate is the microclimate of opinion about the drug. If all three are right, heroin addiction can take root. If one is wrong, it is almost impossible."
August 17, 2011
dry as a text book
November 25, 2018
This is interesting book about the history of drugs and more importantly the history of the need for release from Paine, emotional or physical.
October 22, 2024
This book is a history, not a contemporary polemic; but it marshals evidence that conflicts with the assumptions of the prohibitionists. It indicates that it is not a drug itself that drives an addict to crime but the need for the drug.
It is not the supply of a drug that turns a user into a criminal but the illicitness of that supply. Enforced abstinence and punitive treatment of users are generally ineffective. Drug-suppliers are not averse to the risks posed by law enforcement, and never have been, because higher risks always raise the potential profits. Criminal sanctions against drug-trafficking may by well intentioned, and may enjoy temporary or localized success; but overall the primary roles of these laws is as business incentives. Prohibition creates an irresistibly lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs willing to operate in illicit business.
It is the policy of idealists who cannot appreciate that the use of drugs often reflects other set of human ideals: human perfectibility, the yearning for a perfect moment, the peace that comes from oblivion.
I think we often erroneously assume that contemporary issues are unique to our modern times. Drug addiction, specifically opioid addiction, emerges as a pertinent instance of this thinking. While the administration of the drug itself may have changed, for example from smokable opium to injectable fentanyl, the roots and causes of addiction today are largely similar to the 18th and 19th centuries. Moreover, The Pursuit of Oblivion demonstrates that drug usage today is just as ubiquitous as it was in the past.
Most books I’ve read on the topic of drugs and addiction focus more on the social side of the issue, and often aim to present a solution to the modern problems posed by addiction. While I find these ideas valuable, I had been wanting to read a proper, objective history on the subject for some time now. The Pursuit of Oblivion does an excellent job of objectively charting the social, political, and economic history of several narcotics, primarily opium and its derivatives, cocaine, and cannabis.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in the subject of drugs or addiction, given how pressing of an issue drug addiction is in society today. Politically, drug addiction is often addressed through an emotional and moral lens. However, through understanding the historical roots of substance use and addiction I think legislators could improve and develop better frameworks to help treat the issue.
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February 2, 2026“Some Americans have numbed their disappointment by taking drugs: when the pursuit of happiness has failed them, they have gone in pursuit of oblivion. Other Americans—like many Europeans—have sought artificial happiness in drugs when they have failed to attain what the Declaration of Independence averred the Creator intended for them. The ‘self-evident’ truths of 1776 are central to American culture, and can seem an inducement to act on self-indulgent impulse. Moreover, the introspective American puritan tradition, with its emphasis on self-examination of conscience, has aggravated the tendencies to self-absorption.”
~
“Foucault’s pitiful naivete recalls Alasdair MacIntyre’s reaction in 1967 to claims advanced for psychedelic experience. ‘The kind of intellectual work which authentically leads to new truths about the nature of things, that is workaday science and philosophy, is hard and often unrewarding and boring. But what is even more important is that learning truths about the nature of things no longer seems in any way concerned with learning the truth about the nature of things.’”
~
“Part of the difficulty is that politicians gain their reputations for being practical by strenuously supporting what has already happened. Their language on drugs has steadily and intentionally narrowed the range of the thinkable. It has favored moral abstractions that deter or dissipate thought, and muffle individual experience. The result has been a set of dodges rather than policies that command respect.”
~
“Foucault’s pitiful naivete recalls Alasdair MacIntyre’s reaction in 1967 to claims advanced for psychedelic experience. ‘The kind of intellectual work which authentically leads to new truths about the nature of things, that is workaday science and philosophy, is hard and often unrewarding and boring. But what is even more important is that learning truths about the nature of things no longer seems in any way concerned with learning the truth about the nature of things.’”
~
“Part of the difficulty is that politicians gain their reputations for being practical by strenuously supporting what has already happened. Their language on drugs has steadily and intentionally narrowed the range of the thinkable. It has favored moral abstractions that deter or dissipate thought, and muffle individual experience. The result has been a set of dodges rather than policies that command respect.”
April 12, 2022
Richard Davenport-Hines is a highly respected historian - this is a thoroughly-researched and highly readable history of the impact of drugs on the West ... and still worth a read despite it being first published in 2001.
He argues, essentially, that efforts by the USA and UK to criminalise 'narcotics' have sponsored the creation of a global market and supply industry, and a huge counter-culture. And, by criminalising use, those who need help to deal with problems are simply excluded from treatment other than as a response to criminal conviction.
Thoughout most of the 19th century opiates were socially acceptable. Cocaine became a widely adopted medicine — Freud failed to spot its potential as an anaesthetic ... but hailed it as a stimulant with no risks! Drug companies manufactured tons of 'narcotics' - 'heroin' was actually a brand name!
Davenport-Hines points to the failures of the US drug policy - it has trapped generations of politicians in continuing to pursue criminalisation ... perpetuating a global industry which has learned to smuggle not just drugs, but arms and people while creating a huge market for laundering money.
A fascinating book which should stimulate you to enquire further into the lunacy of criminalisation and its consequences. Despite its age, still worth a read.
He argues, essentially, that efforts by the USA and UK to criminalise 'narcotics' have sponsored the creation of a global market and supply industry, and a huge counter-culture. And, by criminalising use, those who need help to deal with problems are simply excluded from treatment other than as a response to criminal conviction.
Thoughout most of the 19th century opiates were socially acceptable. Cocaine became a widely adopted medicine — Freud failed to spot its potential as an anaesthetic ... but hailed it as a stimulant with no risks! Drug companies manufactured tons of 'narcotics' - 'heroin' was actually a brand name!
Davenport-Hines points to the failures of the US drug policy - it has trapped generations of politicians in continuing to pursue criminalisation ... perpetuating a global industry which has learned to smuggle not just drugs, but arms and people while creating a huge market for laundering money.
A fascinating book which should stimulate you to enquire further into the lunacy of criminalisation and its consequences. Despite its age, still worth a read.
October 29, 2025
Why is “The Pursuit of Oblivion” such a good story? Well, it’s like chasing a mysterious butterfly you’re enticed by the fuzziness of the unknown, even if you’re not quite sure where it’ll land. There’s an irresistible allure in characters questing for something elusive oblivion, in this case because it taps into that universal wish to escape, to forget, to find peace beyond the chaos. It’s like a seductive lullaby sung in whispers of midnight, inviting us to imagine what’s on the other side of the veil. Plus, it dances on the edge of reality, teasing us with a blend of dreams and nightmares we all secretly entertain. It’s a story wrapped in velvet mystery, with just enough intrigue to keep you hooked, heart fluttering, eyes wide open, craving the next turn in the tale.
February 12, 2017
Undoubtedly scrupulously researched (everybody mentioned, even in passing ...and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of them merits birth-death dates), this may be the definitive work on the subject. An easy, engaging, interesting read it is not; a reference, textbook it could be but I couldn't get very far into what is in essence a volcano of facts.
August 21, 2021
A great survey of the history of drugs and drug consumption in the US and the UK up to the end of the 20th century. It clearly shows the link between geopolitics and different kinds of drug as well as the disastrous consequences of narrow minded policies which, specially in the US, have increased the number of addicts and drug related crime.
August 9, 2009
Perhaps a bit too thick a tome with too tiny a print for most. Perhaps it wanders a bit too much, doesn't follow quite the order of its own chronology, and jumps about the world a bit too much. That said, I love it. Reminds me of how we've endlessly fucked-up our whole attitude to drugs. Our own current DRUG WAR is just the accumulation of hundreds of years of sketchy information, lies and scaremongering. In the end, it makes me sad, reviving my own attitudes to our view or drugs and the monstrosity of their current regulation throughout the world.
June 24, 2009
Scattered and badly-organized though refreshingly non-polemical, this is not so much a history as a superficial survey. A difficult read because of the shoddy structure and a boring read because of the lack of anecdotal detail.
June 4, 2007
read most of it.
January 16, 2008
More technical than I would have liked. There were some interesting facts and figures, but all in all not enough to warrant such a long dedication to the subject.
July 30, 2011
you want understand drugs, government, users, law enforces, laws...read this
September 5, 2012
It actually reads as a novel. Well wirten and documented, a rare mix!
Read
April 17, 2013Not as fun as I was hoping. A bit too heavy on details and figures for a pop history but not a deep or broad enough synthesis for a social history.
Read
June 4, 2013Excelente libro, una investigación titánica pero bastante útil para entender el tráfico y consumo de drogas.
March 29, 2014
Suggested pairing: 'Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk'
January 2, 2016
Very thorough analysis of drugs and the useless War on Drugs. Took me a while to get through this one, but well worth the effort.
March 25, 2017
Interesting, but quite dry text.
history of drugs/ travelogue of drugs.
Worth reading to get perspective on illegal drugs industry.
history of drugs/ travelogue of drugs.
Worth reading to get perspective on illegal drugs industry.
Want to read
January 1, 2017got to page 27
Read
August 31, 2018Very thorough review of how humanity started to use drugs and why and how the restricting policy actually made things worse.
The first half of the book is the most interesting (the beginning is a bit boring though), then the second half (closer to our days) is actually a bit boring and took me a lot of time to finish because these were all known facts and the author was mostly concentrated on proving his position on the modern laws. It's interesting in the beginning, but then his arguments become repetitive.
However, I really liked the book - it gave me a totally new perspective on the drug using - it's not all black and white as it turns out, and it shows how helpless restrictions can be and how people can suffer from that (those who, for example, have cancer and simply can't get the painkillers while junkies still always can find a way).
The first half of the book is the most interesting (the beginning is a bit boring though), then the second half (closer to our days) is actually a bit boring and took me a lot of time to finish because these were all known facts and the author was mostly concentrated on proving his position on the modern laws. It's interesting in the beginning, but then his arguments become repetitive.
However, I really liked the book - it gave me a totally new perspective on the drug using - it's not all black and white as it turns out, and it shows how helpless restrictions can be and how people can suffer from that (those who, for example, have cancer and simply can't get the painkillers while junkies still always can find a way).
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews