High Society - Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture (Hardback) /anglais

by Mike Jay

An illustrated cultural history of drug use from its roots in animal intoxication to its future in designer neurochemicals

• Featuring artwork from the upcoming High Society exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London, one of the world’s greatest medical history collections



• Explores the roles drugs play in different cultures as medicines, religious sacraments, status symbols, and coveted trade goods



• Reveals how drugs drove the global trade and cultural exchange that made the modern world



• Examines the causes of drug prohibitions a century ago and the current “war on drugs”



Every society is a high society. Every day people drink coffee on European terraces and kava in Pacific villages; chew betel nut in Indonesian markets and coca leaf on Andean mountainsides; swallow ecstasy tablets in the clubs of Amsterdam and opium pills in the deserts of Rajastan; smoke hashish in Himalayan temples and tobacco and marijuana in every nation on earth.



Exploring the spectrum of drug use throughout history--from its roots in animal intoxication to its future in designer neurochemicals--High Society paints vivid portraits of the roles drugs play in different cultures as medicines, religious sacraments, status symbols, and coveted trade goods. From the botanicals of the classical world through the mind-bending self-experiments of 18th- and 19th-century scientists to the synthetic molecules that have transformed our understanding of the brain, Mike Jay reveals how drugs such as tobacco, tea, and opium drove the global trade and cultural exchange that created the modern world and examines the forces that led to the prohibition of opium and cocaine a century ago and the “war on drugs” that rages today.

Genres: History, Drugs, Nonfiction, Science, Politics, Medicine, Religion

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Mahmoud Awad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part 1 of 3, "A Universal Impulse" - One would think that a geographic approach organizing drug use by continents or climate zone would be intuitive, instead Jay awkwardly meanders from kava to betel and MDMA. Very poor structure!
Part 2 of 3, "From Apothecary to Laboratory" - Lush with exotic illustrations and rare detail, though surprisingly doesn't touch upon ergotism poisoning in the construction of the medieval european "Witches Sabbat". Significant similarities to Jay's FAR more interesting work Emperor of Dreams in the opium and hashish portions. Hello again, Kendall's Black Drop! Regardless of the weaknesses, this would have earned a 5 star rating handily if it was the only part of the book and developed in more detail.
Part 3 of 3, "The Drug Trade" - Other books have covered the subject of drug prohibitions and the Opium Wars in endlessly greater depth. Don't waste your time.

Worth it overall, especially for Part 2 and the outstanding Further Reading appendix.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay book about various drugs that the world consumes. Very broad as it included stuff like sugar,tea,coffee and tobacco etc.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an engagingly written, brief history of the economics and culture of drugs, from the "soft" drugs sugar, chocolate, tobacco, tea, and coffee, to the harder stuff such as opium, coca, and alcohol. Meant to be paired with an exhibit at the Wellcome in London, this made me wish I could have seen the exhibit itself, which featured historical art and prints. While fans of psychedelics won't learn too much new stuff here, this was a decent summary of how much the "harder" stuff (and especially the soft drug of sugar, which involved the slave trade) deeply affected the world through illicit trade, slavery, and prohibition.

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent & accessible! I learnt a heap reading this lil ole thing!

[Mateus Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice introduction to the history of drugs in global society; the writing is simple and flows well while still giving out enough detail for this not to feel like a ChatGPT "tell me about the history of drugs"-type text. The author develops a fast-paced summary of the adoption of the many different substances we call drugs (from coffee to heroine) around the world, with a lot of historical links to colonialism in particular.

Even though it's not the main point of the book, the author also sets out several interesting arguments and statements around the topic of drugs, such as drugs being more of a cultural and social issue than a public health one, as well as the treatment of drugs and their users in society always being dependent on who is using them (both today and in the past). It is, as with all good summaries/historical reviews, an opinionated one!

In fact, this book feels a lot like a longer version of one of those nice, well-research Atlantic/NYT longform articles. I liked it a lot and am very interested into looking further into some of the topics expounded, in particular everything related to the British opium trade in Chinese territorry (which I knew was bad but had never really read up on it) and the relative recent adoption of psychedelics by urban society.

The appendix with all the references (a lot of the, by the way) is a nice touch; I missed seeing them being mentioned during the book itself so I like that the author made a separate section to make up for that.

I recommend this book heavily for anyone who is new to this topic of drugs in history. While it does not go too deep into any particular drug/substance or local/historical context, it's a good exposition of the topic as a whole.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable, easy to read, fabulously illustrated book.

Relieved me of the notion that "the Brits got China addicted to opium" - like with slavery, it was the Brits who at first partook very successfully, then thought better of it and were the first who sought to abolish it. The book offers nuanced insights into a lot of truisms about drugs.

I really wish it was much, much longer, though. There was nothing about those ancient Roman festivals where the moldy bread got people hallucinating and there was no history of psychedelics in China before the West had dealings with them. I mean, I understand research into ancient Chinese sources must be a bit difficult. But I'm left curious what their history with it was - I find it hard to believe there was nothing. Also wished for more about Russian shamanism. Also - and this might be my personal quirk - would have loved a chapter on conspiracies around drugs. MK-ULTRA comes to mind. I'm a total nerd though and drugs are one of my current obsessions, so I guess for most people the scope of this book would be sufficient. I feel I need at least 5 more books, myself.

[Lizardphunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strong and weak point of this book is the same: it is not moralizing - in either direction.

This left me somewhat disappointed, as different attitudes to drug use or the biological effects of mind altering drugs were not given a strong focus.

However, this is also a strong point: few books in this genre provide a matter of fact account of humanity's history of drug consumption, and this book is a surprisingly clear and concise account.

In contrast to other books on this topic, the author does not attempt to convince you to agree with any specific point of view, and the writing style is engaging and elegant.

In addition, the book provides reference literature with comments for each chapter. A cursory overlook gave me the impression that the author strives to account for literature from both positive and critical points of view.

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

they say a picture is worth 1000 words, but in the case of this book that saying is put to the test. Mike Jay's book glimpses at all the drugs imaginable, but does not explore any of them or their meaning in depth. It is the pictures that set the scene accordingly, transforming these moments of reading into theme fitting curious multisensory experiences. Too much is left untold since the book would benefit from a length twice its existing 200 pages. Read for alternative reading experience, expect interesting trivia.

[Ronja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somebody compared this to a museum tour. Pretty appropriate, I’d say, with all the pictures and short pieces of neutrally written texts. Remained much on the surface, but still, interesting to read. Very introduction-like, recommendable to anyone. In the end, there’s a list of books for further reading. Heading to those next!

[Gianfranco Gentile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, beautifully illustrated and up-to-date introduction to the ancient and universal phenomenon of drug use, from an historical and cultural perspective. I have to admit though that this book has left me hungry for... eeeeerm... more? ;)

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief but well researched history of human drug use. While most readers see most photos online these days, it's worth putting on reading glasses and engaging with the photographic documentation. A must-read for anyone interested in drug policy reform.

[Scott E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and accessible. A pretty succinct exploration of drug culture and the effect drugs have had on culture. For something that spans so many years and the far reaches of the globe it is presented in a linear progression where things could have easily become muddled.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, still useful and informative.

[Nova Cryptonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good perspective on historical human vices.

[Waleed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 'High Society' exhibition at the Wellcome Collection November 2010 - February 2011 was one of the most interesting and best-curated exhibitions I have ever visited. This was the tie-in book, which is as intelligent and mind-expanding as the exhibition was. I'm not sure how it stands on its own - I guess you had to be there.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of nice illustrations.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at the High Society exhibtion at Welcome earlier in the year. While the exhibition had quite a lot of interesting things in it I felt like I didn't really learn anything. I felt like it was quite poorly labelled, from the first room that had a case full of objects, with their labels on the other side of the room, to the fact that just names of drugs were given but not any of the effects. So I bought the book to get more information and it was full of it!!! I can highly recommend this book. It was full of interesting facts and ideas about drug use in different cultures around the world. It made no difference between illegal or legal drugs but took a very scientific approach looking at how drugs are used and how their use has changed over time, how certain drugs became criminilised and the affects this had on culture as well as the creation of different subcultures (including the rave scene).

In the very begining in mentions experiments done with rats that showed that rats living in tiny cages were much more likely to become morphine addicts than rats living in "rat park" an open space filled with activities and social interaction with other rats. Even morphine addicted rats would choose to go through withdrawal symptoms and take much less of the drugs once they'd moved to rat park. I was kinda shocked to see that this experiment was done in the 80s as I don't think the implications have really sunk into society in the 30 years since!

Unlike the exhibition the book talked about the different effects different drugs had on the body and the mind and the way these became integrated in society. There was a lot of discussion about different drugs used in religion. But also how preference for one drug can overule another (ie coffee and smoking instead of alcohol in arab cultures). It was quite a short popular history but I still found I really enjoyed it. It was also loaded with lots of fascinating pictures from the exhibition. I'm really glad I bought it.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jay's exploration of the role of psychoactive substances in history, science, and culture is accessible and fun to read. Treating us to fascinating tidbits and gorgeous full color photographs, Jay compelling argues the centrality of the drug trade in the formation of global capitalism. Importantly, Jay shows how the way we view psychoactive substances, whether as medicine or drugs in the pejorative sense, is highly dependent on cultural context; as globalization increasingly turns the world into a monoculture, the prohibition of drugs which cannot be easily regulated, taxed, or otherwise profited from becomes an international concern--but by the time drug prohibition coalesced into an international effort, it had already failed; just as with the temperance movement and alcohol prohibition, demand is simply too high. Ultimately, this is a fascinating history presented in a clear, intelligent manner. Anyone interested in the history of psychoactive substances would get a lot out of this book.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt like a travelling museum exhibit, filled as it was with plates of amusing old-style pictures. The text wasn't especially deep, but it had a few interesting tidbits of information, such as the mention of a study on lab rats showing that they chose to consume fewer drugs when they lived in a free-range playground (Rat Park) than when they lived in a cage. The book tends to concentrate more on exploring the benefits of drugs than it does on the deleterious effects.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to the history of drugs in the world leading up to today. It covers a myriad of different drugs, from sugar and tea to LSD and ecstasy, and many things in between. It shows a picture of how and why drugs became illegal, and gives a glimpse of a history where they weren't so prohibited. The book is well illustrated and interesting to read.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing the insight this full-color book provides on every society's need to alter consciousness. Adds the art component missing from Ron Siegel's classic, Intoxication (ISBN 978-1-59477-069-2).

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a trailer for this online, specifically dealing with the Opium Wars, and it seems fascinating.

I can't wait to start it.

[Dave Hazzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stars for the text but five for the pictures!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and beautiful book.

[Janne Puustelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

rather good overview of psychoactives throughout the historical human societies