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Lucy Inglis

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Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium Hardcover – February 5, 2019

by Lucy Inglis (Author)

4.3 151 ratings

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An intelligent and authoritative history of opium—a drug that has both healed and harmed since the beginning of civilization.

Poppy tears, opium, heroin, fentanyl: humankind has been in thrall to the “Milk of Paradise” for millennia. 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.

No other substance in the world is as simple to produce or as profitable. It is the basis of a gargantuan industry built upon a shady underworld, but ultimately it is an agricultural product that lives many lives before it reaches the branded blister packet, the intravenous drip, or the scorched and filthy spoon. Many of us will end our lives dependent on it.

In Milk of Paradise, 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 today’s synthetic opiates. It is a tale of addiction, trade, crime, sex, war, literature, medicine, and, above all, money. And, as this ambitious, wide-ranging, and compelling account vividly shows, the history of opium is our history and it speaks to us of who we are.

Print length

480 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pegasus Books
Publication date

February 5, 2019
Dimensions

6 x 1.8 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1643130552
ISBN-13

978-1643130552
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Martin Booth
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John H. Halpern
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Jim Hogshire
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Barbara Hodgson
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Patrick Radden Keefe
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Peter Lee
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"As Lucy Inglis recounts in her sweeping new history of opium, the tension between the substance’s medicinal virtue and its dangers is ancient. [She] untangles these contradictions with gusto. A deeply researched and captivating book." ― The Economist

"This sweeping history explores our millennia-long relationship with Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Deftly tracking opium’s path along global trade routes, Inglis illuminates various cultures and industries that have sprung up around it, from the Chinese opium den to the contemporary pharmaceutical manufacture of opioids." ― The New Yorker

"A model of lucidity. This timely account will interest advocates and concerned citizens. Inglis’s skillful command of style will please them all." ― Library Journal (starred)

"A learned, engaging, and ambitious look at the cultural history of a product that’s much talked about these days but little understood. Inglis provides a sweeping history of the cultivation and uses of opium across a millennium and across cultures, showing how it’s been stitched into the fabric of our societies, time and again, always a complex and provocative relationship." ― CrimeReads

"A sweeping, panoramic history of opium and its deep roots in a vast array of societies and cultures. Inglis' history is not only wide, but deep due to her keen analysis of how entrenched opium is in modern culture in everything, from medicine to war to addiction to commerce. A well-crafted history of civilization seen through the prism of one of the most profitable agricultural products in human history." ― Kirkus Reviews

"In this wide-ranging and at times vivid narrative, Inglis charts several millennia of opium’s history. A must-read for anyone interested in the roots of the opioid crisis." ― Publishers Weekly

"Lucy Inglis’s fabulous book Milk of Paradise is the history of civilisation as shaped by opium. A triumph, epic in scale and full of humanity." ― The Times (London)

"Lucy Inglis has done a wonderful job bringing together a wide range of sources to tell the history of the most exciting and dangerous plants in the world. Telling the story of opium tells us much about our faults and foibles as humans—our willingness to experiment; our ability to become addicts; our pursuit of money. This book tells us more than about opium; it tells us about ourselves." -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

"An invaluable resource for any reader who wants an exhaustive understanding of the world’s opioid crisis. As Inglis makes clear, opium has long been a substance of deep social, political, religious, and economic significance." ― American Conservative

"An important book." ― New Criterion

About the Author

Lucy Inglis is the creator of the Georgian London blog, and her book of the same name was shortlisted for the Longman-History Today Prize. City of Halves, her first novel for young adults, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Branford Boase Award. Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium was published by Pegasus Books in 2019. She lives in Britain.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pegasus Books; First Edition (February 5, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1643130552
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643130552
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #298,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #231 in Sociological Study of Medicine
- #267 in Drug Dependency & Recovery (Books)
- #840 in Criminology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 151 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

151 global ratings

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Kevin Z

interesting headline

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2022

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Commentary introduction, descriptive monologue, intricate precise details historically. Every counted events are analyzed by author. Drugs in part morally suggest substantial influence to diverse cultures across the world.

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Peter R. Ramsey

A bit too exhaustive and superficial at the same time: a popular, not a scholarly work

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2019

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This book is interesting, but way too long. The author goes into exhaustive detail about every aspect of the use of opium and all its derivatives, but as the book covers EVERYTHING, the coverage is necessarily superficial. In particular the coverage of the Opium Wars reports the popular understanding and is historically misleading if not inaccurate. The book is very broadly if superficially researched. The writing is cogent if not narratively excellent. All in all it reminds me of a very diligent senior thesis, where the author put in many hours at the library and on the internet.

3 people found this helpful

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Marjorie

Amazing breadth to this history!

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020

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It got off to a slow start, but the descriptions of the role opium and its cousins have played are fascinating. It goes from pre-historic times to the 21st century. It covers social, international and individual consequences of opium, from causing wars to serving as the source of great poetry, And the many instances of un-intended consequences is worth remembering.

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019

Book blew my mind, and shame on the flippant one-star reviewer who writes MILK OF PARADISE off and thus does a major disservice to all you out there reading these reviews. This riveting history is someone's life work, their passion, and their obsession. Brava to writers like Inglis who spend years creating masterpieces we can learn from. Now I realize: The history of exploration, of global travel, of Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus and Ghengis Khan - all of it is actually the story of the drug trade and the world's desire for a release from pain, physical and emotional both. Opium's our nemesis and our friend, a traitor and a healer both. Run don't walk to purchase this one, dismissive reviewers be damned. So grateful for books like these, which inform and illuminate elements of our troubled, complex world.

One person found this helpful

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Jack Dekker, Author

How can a bad writer be a ‘good read’?

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2019

I recently saw the paperback of ‘Milk of Paradise’ in my favorite English language bookstore in Amsterdam and was immediately drawn to this most interesting topic of opium and opiates. As a soldier in the US Army in 1969 I was drawn to opium dens in Bankok on R & R. I wanted to learn more. Almost immediately on reading the introduction I was appalled at the awkward, cliché -ridden writing style, run-on sentences, the almost complete absence of copy editing and numerous errors of fact. I frequently felt I was reading a Bachelor Degree Senior thesis. How does a blogger with a bachelor’s degree in literature qualify as an ‘acclaimed cultural historian’? Have English publishers given up reading their own books before publication? Here are just a few that struck me (my underlining):

“There is no such thing as a wild opium poppy.”
“Papaver somniferum is a domesticated species … represents one of mankind’s earliest attempts at genetic engineering, over 5000 years ago.” [p3]

“Raw gin could be anything up to 140 per cent proof …” [p135]

“If a man “whose talk is of oxen” should become an opium eater … he will dream about oxen. Yet for all his dreams of higher plains …” [p159]

“It seems like the obvious answer, but it is unlikely in the extreme that the poppy fields of Afganistan, the Shan states of Burma or the Sinaloa mountains will be brought under any significant governmental, let alone international control.” [what exactly is this ‘obvious answer’?; p376]

Yet despite this terrible writing the author kept me interested with a wealth of information about opium and opiates. No topic was developed with any thoroughness, but the ride through her constant anecdotal style made me not regret the 22 euros I spent. How can a bad writer be a ‘good read’? You don’t find many books with these qualifications.

Many of the more interesting topics introduced were not explained or developed. For example we are teased frequently with the opium and opiate production by the Mexican Sinaloa gangsters, but this topic is never developed or explained. Considering the importance of Mexican opiates this was disappointing. I was personally disappointed that the role opiates played in the financing of Japanese occupation of Manchuria was not developed. The war machine succeeded there thanks to active sales of injectable opiates to the enslaved Chinese.

16 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

The poppy

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2019

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This was a comprehensive overview of the Poppy. It is amazing how a flower turned the world upside down.
I would highly recommend to anyone who has any interest in the life giving and life ending uses for Opiates. This is a good resource and has a vast Bibliography.

3 people found this helpful

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vburns

very weak book by a non-historian

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2019

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If you are trying to write a "history of opium" you probably should be a knowledgeable historian. Unfortunately the author of this one isn't, and the book suffers a great deal for it. In fact, this is a pretty bad book. Not really a history, it's a collection of relatively random episodes that have something to do w/ opium which are strung together. You get the feeling that the author is plucking them out of her background reading w/o understanding them. This way of writing sometimes creates inconsistencies and contradictions from one page to another as the author switches from one source to another. There are more than a few historical "howlers," esp in the ancient section. Example: we are told repeatedly that Constantine "conquered" Constantinople in order to make it a Roman city. There are several other histories of opium available--none are perfect by any means--but they are at least less likely to be factually wrong.

7 people found this helpful

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bookwomen37

Comprehensive History of Opium

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2019

This was an interesting read about the history of Opium and addiction. The author traces the use of opium through the ages. The author has done a lot of research and keeps her subject interesting. I really enjoyed the chapter on the authors who used opium to help them write. As the author shows Opium will be always be available. Despite the subject the book is easy to read. Enjoy

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

JM Parham

Very thorough History of Opium from Ancient times to the Present

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

An immensely enjoyable read which apart from being a history of the drug trade is also to an extent a history of the world and of medicine and pharmacology.

thegoddelusion

A brilliant book and a shot at a different perception of history

Reviewed in Germany on January 14, 2021

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I enjoyed the book a lot and liked the quietly entertaining style. Germans tend to get very bombastic, specialized-speaky about matters like these, it is easy and quick to read and the perspective is one I've never taken before, but which I enjoyed as a valid one to be taken once in a while. I did not expect it to be an eye-opener as it was, even if it has - as one of the other reviewers stated - flaws in the details. Those may be corrected in further editions, but it is an important change of perspective to take and to re-evaluate today's drug politics that obviously lead nowhere but to crowded prisons...
I hope this book to become general knowledge as a valid viewpoint more than expecting complete accuracy.

Robert W Heller

Great coffee table conversation piece

Reviewed in Australia on August 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Fascinating history of the poppy trade and medicinal use of opium throughout history

Jules

A fascinating and engrossing read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2019

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An extraordinary read which gives superb historical perspective to an issue that tends to be demonized, or glamorized.

This book does neither, but is highly readable, due in part to the way the author weaves the story threads together - peppering the book with factoids which will be indispensable to anyone with a need for general knowledge.

Seeing the drug's evolution through these pages also explains the motivations and power base of criminal organisations involved in its trafficking - another part of this history, deftly handled by the author.

A fascinating and engrossing read.

2 people found this helpful

Jacqueline Hellings

Great Read

Reviewed in Australia on July 13, 2020

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Enjoy it

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