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Opium Traders and Their Worlds-Volume One: A Revisionist Exposé of the World's Greatest Opium Traders
Opium Traders and Their Worlds examines the opium trade with a detective's investigative approach. The author uses evidence to dismiss many of the false claims commonly held with regard to the so-called "legitimacy" of the Old China trade, presents proof of important figures who were deeply involved in all parts of the world and shows how world events were affected by famous men in opium hierarchies.Lateral contributors to the drug trade include shipbuilders who fashioned their craft to meet needs of the commerce, designing specially built Indiamen, clippers, and "fast crabs."Ms. Kienholz shows how vicious competition in the trade moved players like chess pieces, with winners and losers shifting positions.Her research into the production of the new "opioids" such as oxycodone is an area not previously probed.
420 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2008
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April 18, 2013
So many mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, as the title of the book implies, it's full of details regarding the lives and worlds of opium traders. If you are looking for a comprehensive reference book that lists the various (specifically European/American) families/dynasties of the opium trade - then this is highly recommended. The author covers lots of ground - perhaps, too much. There are times when the author goes into unrelated (and highly speculative) tangents, and after finishing, it seemed that only 50% of this book was truly about the opium trade, and the rest is used for all sorts of loose connections between secret societies, pagans, homosexuals, and the decline of modern society.
With a good editor, this book could have been half as long, and twice as good. Unfortunately, in addition to the unrelated tangents in this book, the author also frequently brings up what seems like an obsession/disdain for linking opium use to homosexuality, and other "vices." This is not just a small footnote that the author mentions once or twice. In fact, the list of "vices" that are linked to opium continues to grow and are mentioned ad nauseam to include Gnosticism, bisexuals, homosexuals, Jesuits, kabbalists, alchemists, marijuana, incest, freemasons, Rosicrucian, and yes, the Illuminati.
In all honesty, these topics are all incredibly fascinating and worth looking into on their own merits. However, there is a very concrete thread the author tries to tie between all of these things that just doesn't belong in this particular book. It seems that the motivation for writing this, wasn't as much to shed light on the true history of the opium trade, but rather to put forth another take on the theory that non-christians have been using opium and secularism to convert the masses into homosexuals and pagans, leading to global moral decline.
Despite the ever pervasive condescending tone of moral superiority that weaves itself through this book - ignoring those bits (e.g. calling Kabbalism "gypsy-style superstitions" and referring to anyone the author wants to put in a negative light as a "homosexual") - this is still worth reading. It just becomes tedious to read around the wild tangents and the puritanical commentary.
If the religious/moral perspective was toned down, and an editor helped trim away all of the irrelevant details, there would be a 5-star book buried under here somewhere. Unfortunately, all of the baggage the author loaded this book with, really dilutes the information it promises to deliver. That said, I'm still planning to read the second volume.
With a good editor, this book could have been half as long, and twice as good. Unfortunately, in addition to the unrelated tangents in this book, the author also frequently brings up what seems like an obsession/disdain for linking opium use to homosexuality, and other "vices." This is not just a small footnote that the author mentions once or twice. In fact, the list of "vices" that are linked to opium continues to grow and are mentioned ad nauseam to include Gnosticism, bisexuals, homosexuals, Jesuits, kabbalists, alchemists, marijuana, incest, freemasons, Rosicrucian, and yes, the Illuminati.
In all honesty, these topics are all incredibly fascinating and worth looking into on their own merits. However, there is a very concrete thread the author tries to tie between all of these things that just doesn't belong in this particular book. It seems that the motivation for writing this, wasn't as much to shed light on the true history of the opium trade, but rather to put forth another take on the theory that non-christians have been using opium and secularism to convert the masses into homosexuals and pagans, leading to global moral decline.
Despite the ever pervasive condescending tone of moral superiority that weaves itself through this book - ignoring those bits (e.g. calling Kabbalism "gypsy-style superstitions" and referring to anyone the author wants to put in a negative light as a "homosexual") - this is still worth reading. It just becomes tedious to read around the wild tangents and the puritanical commentary.
If the religious/moral perspective was toned down, and an editor helped trim away all of the irrelevant details, there would be a 5-star book buried under here somewhere. Unfortunately, all of the baggage the author loaded this book with, really dilutes the information it promises to deliver. That said, I'm still planning to read the second volume.
Displaying 1 of 1 review