The Pursuit of Oblivion by Richard Davenport-Hines, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 拢20, ISBN 0297643754
DO YOU KNOW a precocious teenager who鈥檚 reading Thomas De Quincey鈥檚 Confessions of an English Opium Eater for the glamour and parent-scaring value? Give them The Pursuit of Oblivion. That should keep them quiet for a while.
The book鈥檚 refrain is that the prohibition of mind-altering substances has been foisted on the world by American governments in a form of cultural imperialism. However, Davenport-Hines never quite remembers to explain America鈥檚 urge to purge. He blames cheap journalism, but scare stories can only feed existing fear. Leaving aside paranoia, the closest he gets is Richard Nixon鈥檚 pronouncement: 鈥淭o erase the grim legacy of Woodstock, we need a total war against drugs.鈥� That music festival was by all accounts quite pleasurable 鈥� so is this radical Puritanism? No pleasure without pain, and if you try for pleasure alone, the Puritans will supply the pain.
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This social and political history is sometimes highly entertaining in the social aspect and often deeply somniferous in the political. A safe alternative to drugs.