Scan barcode
A review by nuhafariha
Smoke and Ashes: A Writer's Journey through Opium's Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh
4.0
Thanks to FSG & NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy!
I came to this book because I loved the way Amitav Ghosh is able to interweave several different histories together. I stayed for the political commentary on the opioid pandemic. Although many Americans consider the opioid crisis to be a modern crisis, Ghosh patiently walks us through the vast history of opium - from its origins in the fields of India to the British & American colonization of the drug to the Opium Wars in China to the modern crisis today. Along the way, we also see the influences of Chinese culture on both American and Indian lives today and vice versa. I greatly wished the copy came with the images Ghosh outlines, but I was able to visualize the cultural exchange in my mind. This is a very well researched and fascinating book, especially for readers who enjoy tracing objects to their origins!
I came to this book because I loved the way Amitav Ghosh is able to interweave several different histories together. I stayed for the political commentary on the opioid pandemic. Although many Americans consider the opioid crisis to be a modern crisis, Ghosh patiently walks us through the vast history of opium - from its origins in the fields of India to the British & American colonization of the drug to the Opium Wars in China to the modern crisis today. Along the way, we also see the influences of Chinese culture on both American and Indian lives today and vice versa. I greatly wished the copy came with the images Ghosh outlines, but I was able to visualize the cultural exchange in my mind. This is a very well researched and fascinating book, especially for readers who enjoy tracing objects to their origins!