White Mischief: A Cultural History of Cocaine

by Tim Madge

Praised as a wonder drug by doctors throughout Europe and the United States upon its discovery nearly 150 years ago, perceptions of cocaine have now come full circle. A prime target of narcotics agencies and governments across the globe, coke has become the crown jewel of the drug trade. Despite the widespread panic surrounding its effects and highly addictive quality, as well as massive campaigns by the U.S. government to stop its importation, coke is still readily available and maintains its street credibility as a champagne drug, associated with high-living, high-rolling lifestyles. Millions of South Americans have, for centuries, chewed coca leaves (the raw product from which cocaine is derived), in order to produce a mild high, not unlike caffeine. The plant was so revered by the Incas that they referred to it as the "food of the gods;" and in modern societies, the coca plant has long been used in the recipe for popular soft drinks like Coca-Cola. So what has led to the modern fervor over the plant's by-product cocaine? Tracing a history that goes back hundreds of years, author Tim Madge examines the long, complicated, and controversial history of cocaine, and its parent—the coca plant.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Medicine, Science

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2001

Reviews

[Jakub · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book with some interesting facts, but limited novelty, and writing that leaves a lot to be desired.

Madge seems capable of handling the early days of cocaine, when it is a relatively simple narrative. I appreciated the historical context he gave to the Western discovery of cocaine, especially with respect to other drugs that arose contemporaneously, like coffee, tea and tobacco.

However, by the time you get to the 1980s, and there are multiple threads to the story and some of those threads have multiple facets, the writing gets more confused and sloppy. For example, he goes into far too much detail on which law was proposed by who and passed on which date, and which agency was tasked with what, and I found myself just starting to skim. The last chapter is entirely focused on the minutiae of English media and political events surrounding cocaine, and so bore almost no interest at all to me. I had to force myself to skim it so that I wouldn't miss his concluding paragraphs!

The writing isn’t helped by the fact that there are no citations in the text, just a list of sources at the end. So when he does make what sound like (at best) controversial statements, you don't know where his information came from. Just as one example: he mentions “crack babies”, which were and are certainly a popular idea, but as far as I know were shown some time ago to be a myth.

Anyway, I don't think I can recommend it to anyone. It gets two stars instead of one because there really was enough interesting stuff in that first half of the book to keep me relatively engaged, but the second half of the book devolved into a lot of scanning and skipping.

[Sara Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this from NetGalley to review.

I asked for this title because I was, at the time, working in the criminal justice field in probation and parole. Had I realized the book was nearly 20 years old and hadn't been updated in any way, I may have not requested it. However, as I didn't realize that until I was deep into the narrative, I did get it and read it.

The history was interesting, especially since I've traveled to Peru and have personally experienced products made from the coca plant. I found it interesting that Madge didn't delve deeper into the differences (or perhaps that very little research has been done to established what the basic difference are...but coca tea is legal while cocaine is not...). The history was intriguing to learn about, however, without an update for the last 20 years, it wasn't a very helpful book in knowing where we are today in the ongoing struggle with the white mischief.

Overall, an interesting (if a tad dry) read about the history of cocaine (and the coca plant itself).

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of all aspects of cocaine and its historical, cultural, recreational and economic significance. Madge examines all these issues and opens up the conversation about whether we need to rethink our attitudes towards the drug. It’s a comprehensive, balanced and accessible account. Madge contrasts and compares cocaine with other drugs and discusses its legal position. It’s very easy for non-drug users to simply assume that cocaine is “bad” but in this book we are encouraged to be less judgemental. A book like this should be controversial, and indeed it is, but we need informed debate and I felt at the end that I had gained much knowledge and a less prejudiced, and perhaps simplistic, view of what is a complex subject.

[R. M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, informative read that doesn't get bogged down with difficult facts and theories.
I would recommend this book for people looking for an overview of the cultural history and relevance in the US and UK, but I recognise this is a niche audience.

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7
informative, well researched, very interesting, but not really fun to read

[Drew]

its interesting to learn about something so controversial and taboo, but its so academic that I will need to wait until school is out or something...

[Annette Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but surprisingly comprehensive cultural history of cocaine, this book was a fascinating read. Ranging from traditional use in South America, to the first extraction of the active alkaloid, to the crack cocaine epidemic that swept America , the book concludes with a look at the possible future of the drug...would decriminalization work? This book is designed to appeal to the layman, while the science behind the drug is described in the appendices at the end of the book, the main body of the book is simply and clearly written. I liked the fact that the author did not look at cocaine in isolation, but rather looked at how it's popularity has waxed and waned throughout history, in comparison with other drugs such as morphine, heroin, LSD and even ecstasy. I felt this gave the book a well rounded feel and added an interesting extra dimension. I was really interested to learn about the social aspects of the history of the drug, and how it's legal classification has changed over time.

[Cat]

Pretty timely what with the Opiod crisis. I remember when cocaine was big during the disco era, late 70's early 80's. Then it sort disappeared, only to replaced by crack, then meth, now opiods. It never ends. I think all drugs should be made legal and let the chips fall where they may. The books background history of cocaine was interesting to read about and it's too difficult for anyone who's interested to read. Writing was a bit rough, but readable.
I received a Kindle ARC fro Netgalley i exchange for a fair review.