On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine (Hardcover)

~ Nicholas Rasmussen (Author)
Key Phrases: benzedrine sulfate, armoured brigade, amphetamine patent, United States, Amphetamine's Decline, Benzedrine Inhaler (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rasmussen, who has taught life sciences and medicine at UCLA and other universities, examines amphetamine as a case study on the place drugs occupy in our culture and our fantasies (of miracle cures and elixirs). The story begins with chemist Gordon Alles's creation of amphetamine in 1929 and continues through its use for weight loss, attention deficit disorders and today's crystal meth craze. Smith, Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline) bought the rights for use of the drug and marketed it to treat depression. During WWII, British and American soldiers developed an amphetamine appetite as RAF medics distributed wakey-wakey tablets to bomber crews. At the book's core is an outstanding chapter, Bootleggers, Beatniks and Benzedrine Benders, describing how Benzedrine inhalers, available without a prescription, could be cracked open for a totally new kind of amphetamine experience, exerting a potent influence on music and literature, from Charlie Parker to Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Rasmussen has mined magazines, books and newspapers in addition to extensive explorations through U.K. and American archives. He concludes by calling for strong and immediate action to curb the widespread, dangerous use and abuse of amphetamines, emphasizing treatment and harm reduction (like needle exchange) rather than punishment, and better regulation of the pharmaceutical industry. 37 illus. (Mar. 1)
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Review

"Rasmussen blends science, medical history, and social history with fresh archival research. He fills the narrative with telling details and cultural insights. . . . This is a superb book."
- Journal of American History

"Brilliant."
- The Guardian

"On Speed, a fascinating history of the use and abuse of amphetamines, is full of hair-raising detail. . . . Even more compelling than the historical perspective—which allows for visits to Harlem Jazz clubs, the haunts of Greenwich Village beatniks and Andy WarholÂ’s Factory—is Mr. RasmussenÂ’s withering survey of the current scene, with speed, in the form of Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed to millions of American children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and millions more using it recreationally. Add a dash of theorizing about the medicalization of social problems, and you have a book that is, well, addictive."
- Adam Begley (aka Begley the Bookie), The New York Observer

"Fascinating and thoroughly researched. . . . The history of amphetamines over the past 70 years shows the iron fisted grasp the drug industry has had and continues to have over the medical industry."
- British Medical Association

"It's hard to believe that amphetamine, a drug of questionable medical utility and extreme addiction hazard, was once considered among the 20th century's pharmaceutical triumphs, on a par with penicillin and insulin. How it attained and lost that status is the subject of this perceptive book."
- Washington Post Book World

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press; 1 edition (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814776019
• ISBN-13: 978-0814776018
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,886 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look at a Drug That Changed History, March 30, 2008

By	Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This thoroughly researched and very well written book is the history of the amphetamine class of drugs that were first created in the early part of the 20th century and are still causing problems for society for today. In addition to the history of the drug, there is an allegorical story running parallel to the drug that is a detailed and scary look at practices in the pharmaceutical industry then and now.

Amphetamine, as a class of drugs, was first discovered by Gordon Alles in 1929 while he was doing research on adrenaline substitutes. Although he was not the first to actually identify the molecule, he was the first to precipitate the salt form and identify it as a potential drug. Eventually he sold the rights to the drug to the Smith Kline French Co. in Philadelphia and the hunt was on to find a use for the new drug, as it was a drug looking for a home.

The story follows the hunt to find a use for the new compound and the efforts by the company to get doctors to experiment with "creative" uses for the compound. The one thing the drug appeared to do well was to make people feel happy and empowered. Other than that, it had little use but the company worked around that problem by getting the military to issue speed to soldiers during World War II as a way of keeping them sharp.

The book follows these uses, as well as the use of the inhaler version for recreational drug use and deals, in detail, with the many times the drug could have been put out to pasture only to be rescued by the company that was making so much money from it.

It is still prescribed today, even given what is known about the addictive properties of the drug. And, of course, illegal drug manufactures discovered numerous ways to make it cheaply from legal products, ensuring that it lives on to today.

While I would not recommend this book as a light read, it is certainly a detailed and fascinating look at a drug the public had no real use for and was sold on anyway. It is well written and very readable for those with an interest in the pharmaceutical industry or for a history of the drug itself.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, December 14, 2008

By	D. L. Butler "Australian Pediatrician" (Australia) - See all my reviews

I am an Australian pediatrician who prescribes stimulants to children. Prior to reading this book I was completely ignorant about the history of these medications and the impact they have had on society. I found the book fascinating and thought provoking. Their use by the military especially during WW2 was most revealing as has been their pervasive impact on popular culture. I would recommend the book to anyone who uses or prescribes these drugs so that they are aware of their potential for abuse as well as their many positive aspects.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speed's place in WWII, the beat generation, 1960s San Francisco, ADD..., July 9, 2008

By	Michael Dobler - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thoroughly enjoyed this extensively researched, thought-provoking and well-written book. First formulated in the 1930s, speed -- a drug in search of a market - - was initially sold as an antidepressant although results of trials at that time gave little evidence of any effectiveness in that role and substantial evidence of risk. One of the most interesting discussions is on the varied experiences of early testers, who described the drug as anywhere from a confidence-booster (English testers) to a productivity tool (American testers). During World War II, soldiers and airmen of Germany, England, and the U.S. were prescribed speed as an "upper" to keep flight crews awake on long missions and more generally as a morale booster. Interestingly, of the three only Germany stopped using it as its highly addictive and psychotic properties made it dangerous and unreliable. These properties became familiar in the subculture and speed became the drug of choice for beatniks. The postwar years saw an explosion in both prescribed and illicit use of amphetamines with the emergence of happy pills for the middle classes; by the sixties about 1 in 10 Americans were using amphetamines in one form or another. Most shocking to me was the incredible, recent and on-going growth of amphetamines in an entirely new market, namely children and adults with attention deficit disorder.

The book's conclusions are based on actual scientific evidence rather than conventional wisdom about these eras and their cultures. Interesting as the particular story of speed is, it is also used by the author as a proxy for examining the role of drugs, in general, in modern medicine and in society, especially the manner in which drugs are developed and marketed. The book leaves one questioning the reliance on drugs as the treatment of choice for a host of ailments, and the ease with which the latest 'miracle drugs' are widely marketed before the full range of their complications and risks are examined.