Chasms of Delight

'Chasms of Delight' is rooted in chemist John Mann's fascination with psychedelic, narcotic and euphoriant drugs. He sets out a colourful history of their discovery and use, telling the story of mind-altering drugs, their contribution to the work of poets and artists, the iniquities of the drug trade and the popular use of drugs in the 60s and 70s. Timothy Leary's famous exhortation in 1968 to 'turn on, tune in, drop out' has been blamed for persuading the masses to play with drugs, but the truth is that by the time of the 'Summer of Love' we had already been experimenting with them for thousands of years. Now chemist John Mann has responded to the continuing fascination with psychedelic, narcotic and euphoriant substances by setting out a fascinating and colourful history of their discovery and use. This book tells the story of mind-altering drugs over the centuries, from the poets and artists who produced their work under the influence of opium to the posturing of modern politicians, the iniquities of the international drug trade and the wild excesses of the 1960s and 70s. Previous books by John Mann include Murder, Magic and Medicine published in 1992 and The Elusive Magic Bullet published in 1999, both by Oxford University Press.