Killer high : a history of war in six drugs
(Book)
Author
Published
New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2020].
Physical Desc
ix, 338 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Status
Medford Library Branch
616.9802 AND 2020
2 available
616.9802 AND 2020
2 available
Description
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Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Medford Library Branch | 616.9802 AND 2020 | On Shelf |
Medford Library Branch | 616.9802 AND 2020 | On Shelf |
Subjects
LC Subjects
More Details
Published
New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, [2020].
Format
Book
Language
English
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-316) and index.
Citation/References
Kirkus Reviews,,October 15, 2019
Description
" There is growing alarm over how drugs increasingly empower terrorists, insurgents, traffickers, and gangs. But by looking back not just years and decades but centuries, Peter Andreas reveals that the drugs-conflict nexus is actually an old story, and that powerful states have been its biggest beneficiaries. In his path-breaking Killer High, Andreas shows how six psychoactive drugs--ranging from old to relatively new, mild to potent, licit to illicit, natural to synthetic--have proven to be particularly important war ingredients. This sweeping history tells the story of war from antiquity to the modern age through the lens of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, opium, amphetamines, and cocaine. Beer and wine drenched ancient and medieval battlefields, and the distilling revolution lubricated the conquest and ethnic cleansing of the New World. Tobacco became globalized through soldiering, with soldiers hooked on smoking and governments hooked on taxing it. Caffeine and opium fueled imperial expansion and warfare. The commercialization of amphetamines in the twentieth century energized soldiers to fight harder, longer, and faster, while cocaine stimulated an increasingly militarized drug war that produced casualty numbers surpassing most civil wars. As Andreas demonstrates, armed conflict has become progressively more "drugged" with the introduction, mass production, and global spread of mind-altering substances. As a result, we cannot understand the history of war without including drugs, and we similarly cannot understand the history of drugs without including war. From ancient brews and battles to meth and modern warfare, drugs and war have grown up together and become addicted to each other. "--,Provided by publisher.
Description
"In his path-breaking Killer High, Andreas shows how six psychoactive drugs--ranging from old to relatively new, mild to potent, licit to illicit, natural to synthetic--have proven to be particularly important war ingredients. This sweeping history tells the story of war from antiquity to the modern age through the lens of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, opium, amphetamines, and cocaine. Beer and wine drenched ancient and medieval battlefields, and the distilling revolution lubricated the conquest and ethnic cleansing of the New World. Tobacco became globalized through soldiering, with soldiers hooked on smoking and governments hooked on taxing it. Caffeine and opium fueled imperial expansion and warfare. The commercialization of amphetamines in the twentieth century energized soldiers to fight harder, longer, and faster, while cocaine stimulated an increasingly militarized drug war that produced casualty numbers surpassing most civil wars. As Andreas demonstrates, armed conflict has become progressively more "drugged" with the introduction, mass production, and global spread of mind-altering substances. As a result, we cannot understand the history of war without including drugs, and we similarly cannot understand the history of drugs without including war. From ancient brews and battles to meth and modern warfare, drugs and war have grown up together and become addicted to each other"--,Provided by publisher.
Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Andreas, P. (2020). Killer high: a history of war in six drugs . Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Andreas, Peter, 1965-. 2020. Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs. Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Andreas, Peter, 1965-. Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs Oxford University Press, 2020.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Andreas, Peter. Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs Oxford University Press, 2020.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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