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Opium : how an ancient flower shaped and poisoned our world / by Halpern, John,author.; Blistein, David,author.(CARDINAL)402919;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Opioid addiction is fast becoming the most deadly crisis in American history. In 2017, 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. Opium tells the extraordinary 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. Throughout, 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. This 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.
Subjects: Opium; Opium abuse; Opium trade; Opium poppy;
Available copies: 4 / Total copies: 5
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Opium : uncovering the politics of the poppy / by Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud.(CARDINAL)688674;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-243) and index.Opium : a drug in motion through time and space -- Opium and heroin in Asia : early history and geopolitics -- Opium and heroin in Asia : the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent -- All-time highs and lows -- In and out of the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent -- War, drugs, and the war on drugs -- Opium poppy cultivation -- Successes and failures -- Drug trafficking routes (maps).
Subjects: Drug control; Opium trade; Opium trade; Opium trade;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Seven flowers and how they shaped our world / by Potter, Jennifer,1949-(CARDINAL)406080;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Lotus -- Lily -- Sunflower -- Opium poppy -- Rose -- Tulip -- Orchid.Drawing on sources both ancient and modern, and featuring lush full-color illustrations and gorgeous line art throughout, Potter examines our changing relationship with these potent plants and the effects they had on civilizations through the ages. The opium poppy, for example, returned to haunt its progenitors in the West, becoming the source of an enormously profitable drug trade in Asia. In the seventeenth century, the irrational exuberance of the Dutch for rare tulips led to a nationwide financial collapse. Potter also explores how different cultures came to view the same flowers in totally different lights. While Confucius saw virtue and modesty in his native orchids, the ancient Greeks saw only lust and sex. In the eye of each beholder, these are flowers of life and death; of purity and passion; of greed, envy and virtue; of hope and consolation; of the beauty that drives men wild. All seven demonstrate the enduring ability of flowers to speak metaphorically--if we could only decode what they have to say.
Subjects: Flowers.; Flowers; Plants and civilization.;
Available copies: 12 / Total copies: 13
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Opium : a portrait of the heavenly demon / by Hodgson, Barbara,1955-(CARDINAL)387092;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 144-147) and index.
Subjects: Opium abuse; Opium trade; Opium;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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The paper garden : an artist {begins her life's work} at 72 / by Peacock, Molly,1947-(CARDINAL)506305;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 362-382) and index.Seedcase -- Seedling -- Hound's tongue -- Damask rose -- Nodding thistle -- Opium poppy -- Canada lily -- Passion flower -- Magnolia -- Everlasting pea -- Bloodroot -- Portlandia -- Winter cherry -- Leaves -- Flowers and faces : a list.Mary Delany was seventy-two years old when she noticed a petal drop from a geranium. In a flash of inspiration, she picked up her scissors and cut out a paper replica of the petal, inventing the art of collage. It was the summer of 1772, in England. During the next ten years she completed nearly a thousand cut-paper botanicals (which she called mosaicks) so accurate that botanists still refer to them. Poet-biographer Molly Peacock uses close-ups of these brilliant collages inThe Paper Gardento track the extraordinary life of Delany, friend of Swift, Handel, Hogarth, and even Queen Charlotte and King George III. How did this remarkable role model for late blooming manage it? After a disastrous teenage marriage to a drunken sixty-one-year-old squire, she took control of her own life, pursuing creative projects, spurning suitors, and gaining friends. At forty-three, she married Jonathan Swift's friend Dr. Patrick Delany, and lived in Ireland in a true expression of midlife love. But after twenty-five years and a terrible lawsuit, her husband died. Sent into a netherland of mourning, Mrs. Delany was rescued by her friend, the fabulously wealthy Duchess of Portland. The Duchess introduced Delany to the botanical adventurers of the day and a bonanza of exotic plants from Captain Cook's voyage, which became the inspiration for her art.
Subjects: Biographies.; Delany, Mrs. (Mary), 1700-1788.; Artists; Collage; Flowers in art.; Creative ability in old age.; Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.);
Available copies: 10 / Total copies: 10
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Red Barbarian / by Gaan, Margaret.(CARDINAL)716781;
Subjects: Fiction.;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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A deathly compendium of poisonous plants [sound recording] : wicked weeds and sinister seeds / by Hirsch, Rebecca E.,author.(CARDINAL)351519; Troop, Amanda,narrator.;
Aconite -- Arrow poisons -- Belladonna -- Castor bean -- Chemical warfare -- Coca -- Datura -- Ergot -- Gympie-gympie -- Habanero chili -- Heartbreak grass -- Henbane -- Lie detector beans -- Manchineel tree -- Mandrake -- Opium poppy -- Poison hemlock -- Poison ivy and poison oak -- Allergic reactions -- Strychnine tree -- Tobacco -- Tree nettle -- White snakeroot.Read by Amanda Troop.From a hallucinogenic fungus linked to the Salem Witch Trials to the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother, learn how certain plants evolved toxicity to avoid being consumed by predators and became the predator on their own. Author Rebecca Hirsch takes you on a wild journey to look at how toxic chemicals in the natural world have been used for medicine, warfare, and sinister acts of foul play.
Subjects: Young adult literature.; Informational works.; Audiobooks.; Poisonous plants.; Dangerous plants.;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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A deathly compendium of poisonous plants : wicked weeds and sinister seeds / by Hirsch, Rebecca E.,author.(CARDINAL)351519; Nobati, Eugenia,illustrator.(CARDINAL)432010;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 190-196) and index.Introduction -- Aconite -- Arrow poisons -- Belladonna -- Castor bean -- Chemical warfare -- Coca -- Datura -- Ergot -- Gympie-gympie -- Habanero chili -- Heartbreak grass -- Henbane -- Lie detector beans -- Manchineel tree -- Mandrake -- Opium poppy -- Poison hemlock -- Poison ivy and poison oak -- Allergic reactions -- Strychnine tree -- Tobacco -- Tree nettle -- White snakeroot -- Source notes -- Glossary."A must for fans of science and history-and also armchair detectives-this entertaining and informative illustrated compendium delves into nature's deadliest plants and their fascinating histories as implements of medicine, warfare, and foul play"--Ages 12-18.Grades 7-9.
Subjects: Informational works.; Poisonous plants.; Dangerous plants.;
Available copies: 16 / Total copies: 20
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Curse of the Poppy : Organ, Emily / by Organ, Emily.;
Subjects: Fiction.; British Mystery; Scotland Yard -;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Fifty plants that changed the course of history / by Laws, Bill,author.(CARDINAL)327970;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Introduction -- Agave -- Onion -- Pineapple -- Bamboo -- Wild cabbage -- Tea -- Hemp -- Chili pepper -- Cinchona -- Sweet orange -- Coconut -- Coffee -- Cilantro -- Saffron -- Papyrus -- Foxglove -- Yam -- Cardamom -- Coca -- Eucalyptus -- Ferns -- Soybean -- Upland cotton -- Sunflower -- Rubber -- Barley -- Hop -- Indigo -- Sweet pea -- Lavender -- Crab apple -- White mulberry -- Nutmeg -- Tobacco -- Olive -- Rice -- Opium poppy -- Black pepper -- English oak -- Dog rose -- Sugar cane -- White willow -- Potato -- Cacao -- Common wheat -- Tulip -- Vanilla -- Wine grape -- Corn -- Ginger."[This] is a beautifully illustrated book that uncovers the fascinating stories of fifty plants originating in all corners of the globe. Each plant profiled has played a central role in human history and greatly affected our lifestyle, even today."--Page 4 of cover
Subjects: Plants and history.; Plants, Useful.;
Available copies: 8 / Total copies: 12
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