We have a handful of interviews specifically devoted to addiction books. Shazia Omar chooses her best books about drug addiction, including On The Road by Jack Kerouac and Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. She argues that “getting out of drugs has a lot to do with your frame of mind and the ability to become connected to something higher than yourself.”
Others take up a similar theme. Johann Hari discusses the war on drugs, arguing that it has completely failed by almost every single metric you care to use. His book choices include The murderers: the shocking story of the narcotic gangs by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler and Murder City by Charles Bowden, which illustrate his argument that the illegality of drugs necessarily involves organised criminal gangs that compete for business by competing in the extremity of the violence they are prepared to use.
Hari argues that drug addiction is far more environmentally determined that is allowed for and points to Portugal’s successful programmes for reintegrating addicts. His last two choices, the Globalisation of Addiction: a study in Poverty of the Spirit by Bruce Alexander and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté explore this.
Mark Kleiman, the professor of public policy at UCLA School of Public Affairs, talks about the pros and cons of prohibition, arguing that prohibition can work, or at least have benefits, provided it’s done well, which it isn’t at the moment. He gives us his best books on drugs, including Paying the Tab: the costs and benefits of Alcohol Control by Philip J Cook and An Analytic Assessment of US Drug Policies by David Boyum and Peter Reuter.
Louise Foxcroft chooses her best books on the History of Medicine and Addiction, looking at medical practices of the past, from treatment of madness and non-existent diseases, to drug use and the origins of hypochondria. Dr Matthew Green looks at the specific case of London and the history of the city’s addictions, including chocolate, coffee tobacco and tea. Meanwhile the Italian cardiologist, Tato Grasso, chooses his best books on Medicinal Marijuana.
The Best Addiction Memoirs, recommended by Matt Rowland Hill
The author and recovering addict Matt Rowland Hill dissects the ‘addiction memoir’—its literary potential, its formal conventions and its offer of hope and catharsis—as he recommends five books that exemplify the form, from Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater to Mary Karr’s bestselling Lit.
-
1
Drug Addicts are Human Beings
by Henry Smith Williams -
2
The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotic Gangs
by Henry Anslinger and Will Oursler -
3
Murder City
by Charles Bowden -
4
The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit
by Bruce Alexander -
5
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
by Gabor Maté
The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari
The best books on The War on Drugs, recommended by Johann Hari
Everything we have been told about drugs and drug addiction and how society should deal with them is wrong, says the British author and journalist Johann Hari. He chooses the best books on ‘the war on drugs.’
The best books on London’s Addictions, recommended by Dr Matthew Green
The social historian argues London is an intrinsically addictive city. He charts its history through its dependencies on chocolate, tobacco, coffee, and tea.
The best books on The History of Medicine and Addiction, recommended by Louise Foxcroft
Historian and author Louise Foxcroft prescribes reading on medical practices of the past, from treatments of madness and non-existent disease, to drug use and the origins of hypochondria.
The best books on Medicinal Marijuana, recommended by Tato Grasso
The Italian cardiologist and fellow of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine proposes five books on Medicinal Marijuana and explains why we should be reading them.
The best books on Drugs, recommended by Mark Kleiman
The Professor of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs talks drugs and selects the best books on the subject. Enlightening discussion around drug policies and potential benefits of hallucinogens
The best books on Drug Addiction, recommended by Shazia Omar
Author and social psychologist discusses the nature of drug addiction and the problems associated with it. Discusses books by Coelho, Welsh and Kerouac