Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Opium: A History
    Opium: A History
    Opium: A History
    Audiobook13 hours

    Opium: A History

    Written by Martin Booth

    Narrated by Julian Elfer

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Known to mankind since prehistoric times, opium is arguably the oldest and most widely used narcotic. Opium: A History traces the drug's astounding impact on world culture-from its religious use by prehistoric peoples to its influence on the imaginations of the Romantic writers; from the earliest medical science to the Sino-British opium wars. And, in the present day, as the addict population rises and penetrates every walk of life, Opium shows how the international multibillion-dollar heroin industry operates with terrifying efficiency and forms an integral part of the world's money markets.

    In this first full-length history of opium, acclaimed author Martin Booth uncovers the multifaceted nature of this remarkable narcotic and the bittersweet effects of a simple poppy with a deadly legacy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 9, 2019
    ISBN9781977344243
    Author

    Martin Booth

    Martin Booth (1944-2004) was the bestselling author of novels including Hiroshima Joe, Islands of Silence, and The Industry of Souls, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Another novel, A Very Private Gentlemen, was adapted into the 2010 movie, The American, starring George Clooney. He also wrote several nonfiction books, including Cannabis: A History, Opium: A History, and the memoir Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood. Booth was born in England, but spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, a location that would deeply inspire his writing. He moved back to England at the age of 20, and started his literary career as a poet. He worked as a schoolmaster, a job he held until 1985, when the success of Hiroshima Joe allowed him to devote himself full-time to his writing. At the time of his death in 2004, he was living in Devon, England.

    Related to Opium

    Related audiobooks

    Social Science For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hunting For Truffles

      Aug 4, 2022

      Hunting For Truffles
      3 min read

    • Article

      Shy Violet No More

      Mar 1, 2019

      Shy Violet No More
      5 min read

    • Article

      Troublemakers

      Nov 10, 2021

      Troublemakers
      3 min read

    • Article

      Talking Tomatoes

      Aug 11, 2020

      Talking Tomatoes
      2 min read

    • Article

      Plants For Pollinators

      Jul 20, 2021

      Plants For Pollinators
      4 min read

    • Article

      If Memory Serves…

      Jan 18, 2022

      If Memory Serves…
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Gardener’s Miscellany

      Jun 23, 2020

      This week it’s: Brilliant blooms that will brighten any garden THE poppies in my garden are some of my most eagerly awaited plants. Each year, around early June, the buds of the annual and perennial poppies (members of the Papaver genus) are fat and

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Reviewer

      Jun 19, 2019

      The fruit harvest is almost upon us and with it the pressure of how to put yet another kilogram of juicy berries or plums to good use. If the prospect of bringing the next saucepan of jam to a rolling boil inspires immediate fatigue, you could do wor

      2 min read

    • Article

      Little Crop Of Horrors

      Jan 10, 2024

      Little Crop Of Horrors
      5 min read

    • Article

      On The Wild Side

      Jun 30, 2021

      On The Wild Side
      2 min read

    • Article

      Fabulous Fuchsias!

      May 5, 2020

      This week it’s: THREE weeks before the coronavirus travel bans came, I was in Costa Rica in Central America, looking at wild fuchsias. This is one of the most northerly points on the American continent where fuchsias are known to be indigenous; they

      5 min read

    • Article

      An Herb to Know Mullein

      Dec 11, 2020

      An Herb to Know Mullein
      4 min read

    • Article

      Fabulous FUNGI

      Oct 6, 2021

      Fabulous FUNGI
      2 min read

    • Article

      Fungi The Explainer

      Oct 12, 2022

      Fungi The Explainer
      4 min read

    • Article

      Living Off The Fat Hen Of The Land

      May 25, 2022

      Living Off The Fat Hen Of The Land
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ancient Silphium (possibly)

      Feb 22, 2024

      Ancient Silphium (possibly)
      5 min read

    • Article

      Planting For Pollinators

      Feb 17, 2022

      Planting For Pollinators
      5 min read

    • Article

      Late-blooming Heroes

      Aug 4, 2020

      1 Roses will flower right through into autumn with the proper care. Treat for pests and diseases such as blackspot, and deadhead unless you want colourful hips to follow the blooms. 2 Dahlias are reliable late bloomers before dying back after the fir

      2 min read

    • Article

      Dreamy Spires Of Summer

      Jun 1, 2023

      Dreamy Spires Of Summer
      5 min read

    • Article

      Asian Hornet Vespa Velutina

      Jun 6, 2023

      Asian Hornet Vespa Velutina
      3 min read

    • Article

      Treasures from South Africa

      Sep 14, 2022

      Treasures from South Africa
      4 min read

    • Article

      To Bee Or Not To Bee

      Jul 14, 2021

      To Bee Or Not To Bee
      4 min read

    • Article

      Easy Ways You Can Help

      Jul 22, 2021

      Easy Ways You Can Help
      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Opium

    3.5/5

    33 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book is truly a comprehensive history of Opium and if you enjoy economic histories, you will likely enjoy this book. As with any commodity, a historical accounting will have its dry spots as well as very interesting spots depending upon the reader. The author very much does draw the most logical conclusions about what would become the next chapter of the history of opium with turn of 21st century and the growing demand for opium and opioid products and supply ever ready to feed humankind’s insatiable appetite for opium.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I found myself alternately crazy bored and truly engaged with Booth’s narrative. Essentially he tries to cover everything regarding this subject and does an admirable job – stuffing 4.54 kilograms of crap into a five pound bag, so to speak. Whereas I was less engrossed with the quite detailed technical descriptions of opium harvesting and processing early on, budding criminal scientist types no doubt want more. Overall, the author weaves together a story encompassing addicted 18th century Brits, 20th century international smuggling operations, money laundering mechanisms, inevitable CIA involvement, 19th century international smuggling operations, global scientific, medical, and legal developments, gangsters, coolies, militias, and Hollywood actresses – seemingly the whole gamut. If I ever really did, I certainly no longer desire any more information about opiates! Anecdotes that I’ll remember for at least a few weeks include the falseness of TV detectives licking product at a bust (purer stuff might addict them instantly), Elvis’s ironic contribution to Nixon’s war on drugs declaration in 1971, and how an Englishman can write just like a US author except when it comes to mentioning “goals” (for incarceration).Aside from my typically superficial observations, Booth offers a considerate thesis – based on a very sophisticated historical account – about the multifarious issues revolving around the role of opium growth in developing territories, the resultant drug problems in developed nations, and the various criminal (and often governmental) machinations that connect these contemporary poles.