I got this softcover, subtitled "how an ancient flower shaped and poisoned our world," at a local Barnes and Noble. It's a look at the history of the opium poppy and the drugs derived from it, from the earliest known examples through the colonial era and the infamous Opium Wars, to the modern-day drug-wars and the often tragic victims. (I've appreciated poppies as attractive flowers, with seeds that add a distinctive flavor to baked goods or salads; I've never indulged in opium or heroin, though.)

It's interesting to see how the same substance can be a boon to those in pain and a dangerously-addictive substance that can ruin lives and even whole communities. The authors do take lessons from the failed attempts of the past to control drug abuse, and do propose some solutions for current and future crises - but they admit that there will always be those who get hooked on drugs, and those who will go to great lengths to provide them...

[Since the current and endemic problems with drugs are so painful and frustrating to think about, I found myself more interested in the historical parts of this book - including one incident that I hadn't heard of before and that was quite startling. Apparently, Elizabeth I of England wrote a letter to the Emperor of Cathay (now China) in 1602, but "the letter went missing until it was discovered in the grain bin of a Lancashire farm in 1984 and ceremoniously delivered to China, 383 years late"!]

I'm adding this to the Biographies of Things bookbox. (The bookbox journal includes my selections and replacements.) Hope someone enjoys it!

Found in the current Biographies of Things bookbox; returning back into the box.

Received in the Biographies of Things Bookbox.

Released in the Biographies of Things Bookbox.

Please enjoy!

I am taking this book out of the Biographies of Things bookbox.