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Jonathan
https://www.goodreads.com/jdk-mn
“The brute fact is that it was a flower that defeated the mightiest military power in human history: the opium poppy may be humble in appearance, but it is one of the most powerful Beings that humans have encountered in their time on earth. To be sure, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, cotton, Yersinia pestis, and many other plants and pathogens have played major roles in human history, some of them over several centuries. But today they are all much diminished in their influence, while the opium poppy is mightier than ever.”
― Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
― Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
“East India Company could not formally or explicitly acknowledge that its opium was intended for the Chinese market: doing so would have meant the loss of its trading rights and the end of its immensely lucrative tea business. So, in order to preserve its commercial privileges, the Company created an ingenious subterfuge. Opium from the Ghazipur and Patna factories was loaded on to heavily guarded fleets and sent to Calcutta, where it was auctioned to ‘private traders’.”
― Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
― Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
“When Ludwig Nobel died in April 1888, French newspapers incorrectly reported the death of Alfred, who was in fact alive and well. Alfred then read his own obituary, which was a scathing critique of his life and work. The obituary named Alfred a “merchant of death” and declared that his invention, dynamite, “killed more people faster than ever before.” Alfred was so disturbed at this potential posthumous reputation that he later changed his last will and testament to bequeath his entire fortune to a new foundation that would award a series of prizes to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”
― The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
― The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
Jonathan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Jonathan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
606 books
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432 friends
483 books
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103 friends
44 books
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50 friends
102 books
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54 friends
77 books
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77 friends
559 books
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104 friends
67 books
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58 friends
61 books
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74 friends
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