Author Description

Psychoactive Substances Have Been Central To The Formation Of Civilizations And The Growth Of The World Economy. This Collection Of Original Essays Explores The Rich Analytical Category Of Psychoactive Substances From Challenging Historical And Anthropological Perspectives. Introduction: Peculiar Substances / Andrew Sherratt -- Alcohol And Its Alternatives: Symbol And Substance In Pre-industrial Cultures / Andrew Sherratt -- Coca, Beer, Cigars And Yagé: Meals And Anti-meals In An Amerindian Community / Stephen Hugh-jones -- Nicotian Dreams: The Prehistory And Early History Of Tobacco In Eastern North America / Alexander Von Gernet -- Betelnut 'bisnis' And Cosmology: A View From Papua New Guinea / Eric Hirsch -- Kola Nuts: The 'coffee' Of The Central Sudan / Paul E. Lovejoy Excitantia, Or, How Enlightenment Europe Took To Soft Drugs / Jordan Goodman -- From Coffeehouse To Parlour: The Consumption Of Coffee, Tea And Sugar In North-western Europe In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries / Woodruff D. Smith -- Tobacco Use And Tobacco Taxation: A Battle Of Interests In Early Modern Europe / Jacob M. Price -- Globalizing Ganja: The British Empire And International Cannabis Traffic C.1834 To C.1939 / James H. Mills -- Japan And The World Narcotics Traffic / Kathryn Meyer -- The Rise And Fall And Rise Of Cocaine In The United States / David T. Courtwright -- Building Castles Of Spit: The Role Of Khat In Work, Ritual And Leisure / Axel Klein And Susan Beckerleg -- Afterword / Jordan Goodman And Paul E. Lovejoy. Edited By Jordan Goodman, Paul E. Lovejoy And Andrew Sherratt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 261-267) And Index.