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Rating: 
Summary: Clear and Informative
Review: I really enjoyed this. It was informative and well written. It was as detailed and technical as it needed to be without bogging down too much in endless facts. It has a lively literary style that keeps the chapters flowing. In the end, it changed some of my (admittedly liberal) attitudes about the legalization and regulation of illicit, and licit drugs. It helped me to see more clearly the deeper issues and underlying history behind the use and abuse of drugs worldwide.
Rating:
Summary: Clear, concise and well written
Review: I saw a blurb on this book in the Chronicle of Higher Ed and picked it up, reading it over vacation. Mr. Courtwright has written a detailed, well supported work about the history of licit and illicit drugs without espousing favored theories or working the material around to support his conclusions. He has brought diverse detailed information together, creating a cogent, fascinating and frightening picture of how the 'big three' and the 'little three' of licit and illicit substances gained such prevalence in daily life. As a side note, there was a certain irony to drinking a Diet Coke and reading this book that other readers will appreciate.
Rating:
Summary: The historian of social deviance strikes again!
Review: I was attracted to this book originally because I had read one of Courtwright's other books, "Violent Land," and was very much impressed. Courtwright seems to be building a career on the study of the historical dimensions of deviance--which is important for all of us when we try to look at today's problems in perspective. A major theme of "Forces of Habit" is that some drugs, such as coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and chocolate have become "world drugs" due to the efforts of the international pushers known as "the West." Other drugs, such as qat, kava, and betel have never caught on in the West and, as a result, have not been made into international commodities complete with huge multi-continent plantations and a complex distribution system. The West, however, has now decided that some drugs are bad because they don't work well in complex, industrialized society--cocaine, heroin, etc. Even though the British were once the major distributors of Opium, literally forcing it on the Chinese, they now oppose it. "Forces of Habit" is a fascinating but quick tour of many aspects of the history of drugs from a macro perpective. If you are looking for more details on specific drugs or a detailed analysis of a particular era, Courtwright does offer an annotated bibliography to guide you. If all you want is an overview, this is a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: The historian of social deviance strikes again!
Review: I was attracted to this book originally because I had read one of Courtwright's other books, "Violent Land," and was very much impressed. Courtwright seems to be building a career on the study of the historical dimensions of deviance--which is important for all of us when we try to look at today's problems in perspective. A major theme of "Forces of Habit" is that some drugs, such as coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and chocolate have become "world drugs" due to the efforts of the international pushers known as "the West." Other drugs, such as qat, kava, and betel have never caught on in the West and, as a result, have not been made into international commodities complete with huge multi-continent plantations and a complex distribution system. The West, however, has now decided that some drugs are bad because they don't work well in complex, industrialized society--cocaine, heroin, etc. Even though the British were once the major distributors of Opium, literally forcing it on the Chinese, they now oppose it. "Forces of Habit" is a fascinating but quick tour of many aspects of the history of drugs from a macro perpective. If you are looking for more details on specific drugs or a detailed analysis of a particular era, Courtwright does offer an annotated bibliography to guide you. If all you want is an overview, this is a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: More information than I thought possible
Review: I'm an obscure history buff and when I saw this one it piqued my interest. This is part history, part science and part sociology and the author makes this a more interesting subject than I thought it could be. He starts off with what he calls the Big Three: Alcohol, Tobacco and Caffiene. From there he breaks it further down citing the most popular and not so popular illegal drugs. Mentioning natural stimulants that are unfamiliar to most, such as Qat, Kava and Betel and the very descriptive reasons on why they did not take to popular consumption. Courtwright also doesn't fail to mention that, even though with best intentions, scientists around the 1800's and the turn of the century were also responsible for some of the most addictive substances. Your jaw will drop when you read who devolped heroin and what is was originally used for. Fun, informative, and mind blowing reading.
Rating:
Summary: Forces of Habit
Review: If you want to understand the relationship between psychoactive substances and commerce, this is the book to read. The book is informative, easy to read, well researched, and provides valuable insights into the commercialism of pyschoactive substances. The author also provides a historical basis for his analysis, and discusses the differences between legal and illegal substances. He further discusses the impact not only on the United States, but the entire world.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging, Fascinating, and Highly Recommended
Review: The more factual information one knows about a subject, the more clearly one can think about that subject. No one confronting the problems of our time can ignore that of drug abuse. As a teacher, I know all too many of my students are caught up in this peculiar psychoactive underworld. Courtwright's book provides a great deal of insight into the historical and international macroworkings of psychoactive drugs, and his insights are useful for clarifying one's thinking about the problem as it currently exists. Courtwright convinced me that the War on Drugs cannot be won: history makes that clear. All we can do is minimize the damage. I left the book with a changed view about the legalization of marijuana: I now believe that that would be a huge mistake. However, it also seems clear that America's penalties for its use and sale are too stringent. We need far more rehabilitation programs and far better proactive preventative programs. A great deal of drug abuse grows out of other societal problems which we are not confronting: a livable wage, poverty in general, abuse of women and children, the tyranny of the patriarchy, etc. Until we confront these, we will never get to the roots of the abuse of psychoactive substances.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting introduction to drugs and commerce.
Review: This book is great fun, not least because of the author's extraordinary skill in the efficient delivery of interesting facts. The opening chapters, which detail the origins of the world's major drugs, are among the most informative I've read. The second half of the book, while still engrossing, is a less comprehensive historic analysis of drug use and prohibition. Courtwright concentrates on economics at the expense of culture, emphasizing production and commerce rather than demand and moral opposition. Given the enormous social influences in the modern world, such as the American cultural war against 60's drug use and the pervasive use of alcohol and tobacco as social tools, the emphasis on money and power over cultural forces in the past strikes me as an incomplete analysis. It leads the author to unconvincingly argue that American prohibition and its repeal were primarily the results of economic interests (a "contradiction of capitalism"). Oddly, the same events in the Soviet Union are attributed to "popular resistance", without any comparative discussion of the two nations. Finally, the value of pleasure and the concept of individual rights are generally neglected. In the end, my main problem with is that Courtwright doesn't give culture the excellent and amusing treatment he gives commerce. I can think of worse things to say about a book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting introduction to drugs and commerce.
Review: This book is great fun, not least because of the author's extraordinary skill in the efficient delivery of interesting facts. The opening chapters, which detail the origins of the world's major drugs, are among the most informative I've read. The second half of the book, while still engrossing, is a less comprehensive historic analysis of drug use and prohibition. Courtwright concentrates on economics at the expense of culture, emphasizing production and commerce rather than demand and moral opposition. Given the enormous social influences in the modern world, such as the American cultural war against 60's drug use and the pervasive use of alcohol and tobacco as social tools, the emphasis on money and power over cultural forces in the past strikes me as an incomplete analysis. It leads the author to unconvincingly argue that American prohibition and its repeal were primarily the results of economic interests (a "contradiction of capitalism"). Oddly, the same events in the Soviet Union are attributed to "popular resistance", without any comparative discussion of the two nations. Finally, the value of pleasure and the concept of individual rights are generally neglected. In the end, my main problem with is that Courtwright doesn't give culture the excellent and amusing treatment he gives commerce. I can think of worse things to say about a book.
Rating:
Summary: History That's NOT Dull
Review: What fun this book is! Too bad all history books are not so entertaining and informative. We might all benefit from understanding the history of the economics and culture that underpin drug trafficking in the 21st century. If history and economics were always written in such an engaging way, nobody would ever flunk out of History 101 or find it boring.
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