Customer Reviews

Intoxicating Minds: How Drugs Work (Maps of the Mind)

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There are already numerous books about drugs and their history available on the market, several of them very well-written and great to read. So why, then, do you want to read yet another book about all those substances that have been part our mankind's history as long as there's been a history to speak of.

Well, you don't. At least not if you're looking for in-depth information about, for example, the eternal debate about legalization, how the drug culture looks in different countries, the history and introduction of today's illegal substances, all the different religious ceremonies and rituals that in one way or another use drugs to connect to the gods, and so on. There are, quite frankly, a whole lot of other books that much better deal with these topics.

But if you, on the other hand, want to learn more about the chemistry and biology concerning drugs, what really happens in the human body as different sorts of drugs are consumed - from completely legal Alzheimer's medication to the strongest of Leary's LSD - then few books will be able to beat Intoxicating Minds. There's no doubt Ciaran Regan knows what he's talking about. This professor of neuropharmacology has more knowledge than most, and the majority of the text does indeed deal with what happens on a cellular level when the different substances are introduced to the body.

Interesting? Oh yes, absolutely, but also pretty boring, except of course for all those people who really do have an interest in the biology of the human body. It says in the beginning that the book is for everyone - both scholars and non-scholars - but even though the text isn't extremely difficult except people who never went to school at all, it still becomes rather dull with page after page after page about all those things that happen in the body on a molecular level when drugs are introduced. In fact, it's very likely that any reader who doesn't already feel extremely interested in this will fast-forward in his or her reading until the more general information starts over.

Now, make no mistake, this is obviously a very important, necessary, and well-researched book that everyone with an interest in the combination drugs + human biology will appreciate immensely. However, it's equally obvious that most other people will find it a complete bore.