Addiction History

As a psychiatrist in training fresh from medical school, Carl Erik Fisher found himself face-to-face with an addiction crisis that nearly cost him everything. Desperate to make sense of his condition, he turned to the history of addiction, learning that our society’s current quagmire is only part of a centuries-old struggle to treat addictive behavior.

American Pain chronicles the rise and fall of this game-changing pill mill and how it helped tip the nation into its current opioid crisis. The narrative, which swings back and forth between Florida and Kentucky, is populated by a diverse cast of characters.

Whether addicted or not, we all have stories to tell. The stories of tragedy and redemption found within Tales of Addiction are not about the well known celebrities you find in the usual tabloids. Rather, these stories are true-grit tales told by people you will never meet but whose words will haunt you for months, years maybe. The author collected the stories for over two years through a "call for stories" she put in journals, workshops and lectures. Interwoven throughout, Barbara and her son share their own story of pain and struggle.

Author Ben Goldacre exposes the epidemic of pseudoscience and gives listeners the tools they need to distinguish good science from nonsense.

A definitive history of mescaline that explores its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to Western modernity. Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-20th century through Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, after which the word "psychedelic" was coined to describe it. Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: The earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples.

When two Stanford graduate students set out to create a new kind of cigarette that wouldn’t kill them, they didn’t foresee all the obstacles that lay ahead — or the powerful forces their invention would unleash. Nearly 10 years after the launch of the JUUL, Backfired: The Vaping Wars asks: Could e-cigarettes have been the solution to one of the world’s most pressing public health problems—or was this technology doomed to introduce a whole new generation to nicotine, and end up perpetuating an intractable addiction?

Martin Torgoff details the rise of early drug culture in America by weaving together the disparate elements that formed this new segment of the American fabric. Channeling his decades of writing experience, Torgoff connects the birth of jazz in New Orleans, the first drug laws, Louis Armstrong, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, swing, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, the Savoy Ballroom, Charlie Parker, the birth of bebop, the rise of the Beat Generation, and the launch of heroin in Harlem.

James Hetfield is more than the voice and rhythm guitarist of Metallica—he is the architect of discipline that turned a garage band into one of the most powerful musical institutions in history. James Hetfield: Right Hand, Right Decisions traces his journey from a strict childhood in Downey, California to commanding stadiums across continents, blending intimate biography with cultural history. This definitive account explores every phase of Hetfield’s career: the precision of early garage rehearsals, the fury of Kill ’Em All, the sophistication of Master of Puppets, the mainstream ...

Dave Navarro has always lived at the fault line where underground ferocity meets mainstream visibility. Dave Navarro – Strings and Scars traces his uncompromising journey from Echo Park adolescence scarred by tragedy to global stages with Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers, revealing how one guitarist forged resilience through volatility. This definitive biography excavates Navarro’s story chronologically: his teenage immersion in guitar drills and punk tapes; the combustible formation of Jane’s Addiction in 1980s Hollywood clubs; the chaos of breakthrough records ...

The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. But as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping new history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs. On the eve of World War II, Germany was a pharmaceutical powerhouse, and companies such as Merck and Bayer cooked up cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, to be consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to millions of German soldiers.

Terence McKenna hypothesizes that as the North African jungles receded, giving way to savannas and grasslands near the end of the most recent ice age, a branch of our arboreal primate ancestors left the forest canopy and began living in the open areas beyond. There they experimented with new varieties of foods as they adapted, physically and mentally, to the environment. Among the new foods found in this environment were psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Stan Getz was more than the saxophone's answer to velvet. He was a man whose tone could make silence ache—and whose life left scorched earth behind every melody. Stan Getz is a hauntingly intimate portrait of one of jazz’s most seductive and self-destructive figures. Drawing from eyewitness accounts, out-of-print interviews, tour diaries, and unreleased session logs, this book strips away the mythology to reveal the man behind the horn: brilliant, broken, cruel, and human. From the Bronx tenements to Parisian clubs, from the cool jazz scenes of L.A. to the fevered studios of Rio, Getz ...

Ernest Kurtz talks about various topics of Alcoholics Anonymous by referring to letters written by AA Co-Founder Bill W.

Great insights into the 12-step process, with depth and humor.

In The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, listeners will find Bill’s initial inspirations for what became the Twelve Traditions, his battles with chronic depression and spiritual pride, memories of an all-night drinking spree, and a vivid description of how he came to organize the Twelve Steps (there were six in the first draft). For anyone in recovery from alcoholism or addiction, this uplifting and poignant collection provides a view into the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous as well as deep insights on emotional sobriety and personal struggle.

A classic Big Book study with Joe McQ and Charlie P. Following, that is, another Big Book study with Joe McC and Charlie P. This item has been formatted for effective use by AA Groups. The formatting will help listeners keep track of what they have listened to and find their place when they resume listening or are looking for a subject or section. For efficient use by AA groups and members, the Big Book studies are divided into chapters, which are given meaningful titles based on subject - which often is the section of the Big Book under discussion.

Janis Joplin was more than a rock star. She was a force of nature whose voice burned through the polite veneers of her time and reshaped the possibilities of women in music. Janis Joplin: Voice of Raw Emotion is the definitive biography of a woman who carried the weight of rejection, the ecstasy of freedom, and the cost of fame in every note she sang. Born in 1943 in the refinery town of Port Arthur, Texas, Janis grew up surrounded by conservative expectations that never fit her. Ostracized in high school, she found refuge in records by Bessie Smith, Lead Belly, and Odetta. By the time she ...

Smart Phone Dumb Phone rewires our relationship to technology. By unravelling the brainwashing process behind our addictive behaviour, we are freed from dependence and can reassert control over our time and productivity. Including 20 practical steps to help you along your way, this wonderful guide will release you from the clutches of your smartphone and allow you to live in the moment. It truly is the easyway.

Scott Weiland’s story is one of brilliance and volatility, triumph and collapse, charisma and fragility. As the magnetic frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and later Velvet Revolver, he helped define the sound of the 1990s while embodying both the glamour and the wreckage of rock stardom. Scott Weiland: Chameleon of Grunge and Beyond is the definitive biography, tracing his life from childhood in San Jose through the arenas of global fame, into the chaos of addiction, and toward his tragic final days in 2015. Drawing on exhaustive research and documentary detail, this book offers an ...

In this compelling nonfiction book, baby boomer and former smoker Susan Segovia-Munoz shares her journey to quit smoking after decades of addiction. From her first puff as a teenager to struggling with withdrawal symptoms and cravings in middle age, Susan Segovia-Munoz provides a relatable account of the physical, emotional, and psychological toll of smoking. Through research and self-reflection, Susan explores the history and culture of smoking in America, the dangers of tobacco use, and the various methods and treatments available for quitting. She also shares tips and strategies for ...