Description
Product Description
"Morphine," writes Richard J. Miller, "is the most significant chemical substance mankind has ever encountered." So ancient that remains of poppies have been found in Neolithic tombs, it is the most effective drug ever discovered for treating pain. "Whatever advances are made in medicine,"
Miller adds, "nothing could really be more important than that." And yet, when it comes to mind-altering substances, morphine is only a cc or two in a vast river that flows through human civilization, ranging LSD to a morning cup of tea.
In DRUGGED, Miller takes readers on an eye-opening tour of psychotropic drugs, describing the various kinds, how they were discovered and developed, and how they have played multiple roles in virtually every culture. The vast scope of chemicals that cross the blood-brain barrier boggle the very
brain they reach: cannabis and cocaine, antipsychotics and antidepressants, alcohol, amphetamines, and Ecstasy-and much more. Literate and wide-ranging, Miller weaves together science and history, telling the story of the undercover theft of 20,000 tea plants from China by a British spy, for
example, the European discovery of coffee and chocolate, and how James Wolfgang von Goethe, the famous man of letters, first isolated the alkaloid we now know as caffeine. Miller explains what scientists know-and don't-about the impact of each drug on the brain, down to the details of
neurotransmitters and their receptors. He clarifies the differences between morphine and heroin, mescaline and LSD, and other similar substances. Drugged brims with surprises, revealing the fact that antidepressant drugs evolved from the rocket fuel that shot V2 rockets into London during World War
II, highlighting the role of hallucinogens in the history of religion, and asking whether Prozac can help depressed cats.
Entertaining and authoritative, Drugged is a truly fascinating book.
Review
One of
The Guardian's Top Ten Science and Tech Books, December 2013.
One of
The Daily Beast's Hot Reads, December 2013.
"I've read virtually all the books for the general public on psychoactive drugs. None come close to Miller's volume in breadth, depth, engagement and accessibility. He recounts the stories of all the principal drugs with a flair that is engaging as a novel. From morphine to marijuana the history,
chemistry, pharmacology and societal roles of every agent are chronicled with comparable emphasis on cultural roles as on brain actions. A must read both for the lay public and professionals."
-- Solomon H. Snyder, MD, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD
"
Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs is a
tour de force by Professor Richard J. Miller of Northwestern University. This book makes a powerful case that to deeply understand drug effects on the brain, one needs to understand how the emergence of these drugs in both ancient
and modern cultures have shaped and continue to shape human culture; from the emergence of religion over 11,000 years ago to our "Prozac nation" and "Rave" cultures... [and] is all the more engaging for the personal reflections and the evident sense of humor of its author. I recommend it highly to
people interested in both the scientific and social contexts of psychopharmacology."
-- John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Professor of Translational Research, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Chief of Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT
"Finally, psychotropic drugs, the drugs which speak loudest to our minds and hearts, have found the voice that provides the basis for understanding how these miraculous, misunderstood, and often misused and maligned substances, came to be discovered, how they achieve their magic, and how they
have shaped society and vice versa. Miller's breathtaking knowledge of pharmacology, history, literature ,and social mores, leavened by a great talent for writing