{"product_id":"opium-how-an-ancient-flower-shaped-and-poisoned-our-world-paperback","title":"Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn H. Halpern\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDavid Blistein\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom a psychiatrist on the frontlines of addiction medicine and an expert on the history of drug use comes the authoritative, engaging, and accessible history of the flower that helped to build (\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e) -- and now threatens -- modern society.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eOpioid addiction is fast becoming the most deadly crisis in American history. In 2018, it claimed nearly fifty thousand lives -- more than gunshots and car crashes combined, and almost as many Americans as were killed in the entire Vietnam War. But even as the overdose crisis ravages our nation -- straining our prison system, dividing families, and defying virtually every legislative solution to treat it -- few understand how it came to be. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eOpium\u003c\/i\u003e tells the fascinating (\u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e) and at times harrowing tale of how we arrived at today's crisis, mak[ing] timely and startling connections among painkillers, politics, finance, and society (Laurence Bergreen). The story begins with the discovery of poppy artifacts in ancient Mesopotamia, and goes on to explore how Greek physicians and obscure chemists discovered opium's effects and refined its power, how colonial empires marketed it around the world, and eventually how international drug companies developed a range of powerful synthetic opioids that led to an epidemic of addiction.\u003cbr\u003eThroughout, Dr. John Halpern and David Blistein reveal the fascinating role that opium has played in building our modern world, from trade networks to medical protocols to drug enforcement policies. Most importantly, they disentangle how crucial misjudgments, patterns of greed, and racial stereotypes served to transform one of nature's most effective painkillers into a source of unspeakable pain -- and how, using the insights of history, state-of-the-art science, and a compassionate approach to the illness of addiction, we can overcome today's overdose epidemic.\u003cbr\u003eThis urgent and masterfully woven narrative tells an epic story of how one beautiful flower became the fascination of leaders, tycoons, and nations through the centuries and in their hands exposed the fragility of our civilization.\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn NPR Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003eA landmark project. -- Dr. Andrew WeilEngrossing and highly readable. -- Sam QuinonesAn astonishing journey through time and space. -- Julie Holland, MDThe most important, provocative, and challenging book I've read in a long time. -- Laurence Bergreen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn H. Halpern, MD\u003c\/b\u003e, a psychiatrist in private practice, previously served as medical director of the Boston Center for Addiction Treatment, the largest substance use disorder hospital in New England. He completed his residency and a fellowship in addiction research at Harvard Medical School programs. He spent more than twenty years on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and during his professorship served as the director of his own research laboratory at McLean Hospital, supported by private grants and National Institute on Drug Abuse funding.\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Blistein\u003c\/b\u003e wrote the award-winning PBS documentary \u003ci\u003eThe Mayo Clinic: Faith - Hope - Science\u003c\/i\u003e and is currently writing a film about Henry David Thoreau as well as a comprehensive three-part series on brain disorders and mental health. He also co-wrote \u003ci\u003eCancer: The Emperor of All Maladies\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Gene \u003c\/i\u003efor PBS and is the author of \u003ci\u003eDavid's Inferno\u003c\/i\u003e, a book that combines personal anecdotes with insights into manic depression and descriptions of how it is diagnosed and treated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 03, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978440605997,"sku":"9780316417679","price":20.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/QlNRS2hSbVkzbDgxeDZOQlBNMGxaQT09.webp?v=1775805172","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/opium-how-an-ancient-flower-shaped-and-poisoned-our-world-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}