Essential Substances

Rudgley, Richard

ISBN 10: 1910524085 / ISBN 13: 9781910524084

Editore: Arktos Media Ltd, 2021

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Codice articolo G1910524085I4N00

Riassunto:

Richard Rudgley’s first book, Essential Substances, was the winner of the British Museum Prometheus Award and hailed as a masterpiece by the Director of Harvard Botanical Museum. It is still one of the few books to have explored the role of drugs in the religious, political, economic and sexual life of our species from prehistory to the present day, covering a range of cultures as diverse as the Amazonian Indians, the Scythians of the ancient world and the witches of Medieval Europe alongside inner city crack and drugs in the counterculture. It is a magical tour of the bizarre world of intoxicants peopled by tribesmen and mystics, statesmen and writers, housewives and yuppies. Rudgley cogently shows how the significance of these substances extends beyond simple pleasure to the economic, political, and sexual life of a community. In the process, he challenges our assumptions that deem certain intoxicants socially and legally acceptable, while others remain taboo. Essential Substances remains a timely, much-needed reconsideration of the roles intoxicants play in our lives and society. Added for this edition is a new appendix, ‘A Psychoactive Bestiary’.

‘A splendid contribution to the new wave of scholarship that is forcing a different approach to our ages-old fascination with hallucinogenic plants and altered states. Richard Rudgley is to be congratulated.’ — Terence McKenna, author of Food of the Gods and True Hallucinations

‘Should be required reading for all legislators who think disliked substances can be made to vanish by means of criminal sanctions.’ — Andrew Weil MD, author of The Natural Mind

Richard Rudgley is a critically acclaimed author whose books have been translated into twelve languages. The author of several books, he has also written and presented several documentaries that have aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and on various channels internationally. Arktos has also republished his books Wildest Dreams: An Anthology of Drug-Related Literature, which collects writings both ancient and modern describing the drug experience; and Barbarians, which is about the Dark Ages.

Dati bibliografici

Titolo: Essential Substances
Casa editrice: Arktos Media Ltd
Data di pubblicazione: 2021
Legatura: Paperback
Condizione: Very Good
Condizione sovraccoperta: No Jacket