MILK OF PARADISE: A History of Opium

The history of the most exciting and dangerous plant in the world, this book was read on BBC Radio Four to great acclaim. Poppy tears, opium, heroin, fentanyl - humankind has been in thrall to the 'Milk of Paradise' for millennia. Acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes readers on an epic journey from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and Afghanistan, from Sanskrit to pop, from poppy tears to smack, from morphine to synthetic opiates. It is a tale of addiction, trade, crime, sex, war, literature, medicine and above all, money. The latex of papaver somniferum is a bringer of sleep, of pleasurable lethargy, of relief from pain - and hugely addictive. A commodity without rival, it is renewable, easy to extract, transport and refine, and subject to an insatiable global demand. This is an ambitious and compelling account of the history of opium, but more than that it tells us about ourselves, and many of us will end our lives dependent on it. Lucy Inglis has graced her pages with tales and medical snippets in her sweeping international history. 440pp with 31 illustrations and many maps.