On speed : the many lives of amphetamine / Nicolas Rasmussen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rasmussen, Nicolas, 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Amphetamines--United States--History.

Amphetamines.

Amphetamine abuse--United States--History.

Amphetamine abuse.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (400 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Many lives of amphetamine

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Life in the Fast Lane: The author on the CHE. Uppers. Crank. Bennies. Dexies. Greenies. Black Beauties. Purple Hearts. Crystal. Ice. And, of course, Speed. Whatever their street names at the moment, amphetamines have been an insistent force in American life since they were marketed as the original antidepressants in the 1930's. On Speed tells the remarkable story of their rise, their fall, and their surprising resurgence. Along the way, it discusses the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on medicine, the evolving scientific understanding of how the human brain works, the role of drugs

Contents:

The new sensation

Benzedrine : the making of a modern medicine

Speed and total war

Bootleggers, beatniks, and benzedrine benders

A bromide for the atomic age

Amphetamine and the go-go years

Amphetamine's decline : from mental medicine to social disease

Fast forward : still on speed, 1971 to today.

Notes:

Errata slip inserted.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-347) and index.

ISBN:

9780814777350

081477735X

9780814776278

0814776272

OCLC:

779828474