Bøker av Martin Booth

To some it's the classic "gateway drug," to others it is a harmless way to relax, or provide relief from pain. Some fear it is dangerous and addictive, while others feel it should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, cannabis incites debate at every level, and the effect it has on every corner of the globe is undeniable.In this comprehensive study, Martin Booth crafts a tale of medical advance and religious enlightenment; of political subterfuge and law enforcement; of cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, and musicians. And above all, Booth chronicles the fascinating process through which cannabis became outlawed throughout the Western world, and the effect such legislation has had on the global economy.

In 1977 and 1981, Martin Booth published two collections of work about Knotting, the Bedfordshire village where he then lived: The Knotting Sequence and The Cnot Dialogues. The books were published in limited-run editions by The Elizabeth Press, and few copies came across the Atlantic. Here we have spliced the two together, otherwise unchanged.

When 12-year-old Daniel appears at Dark Creek ranch, the owner, Matt, takes him in. Accompanied by an elderly Mexican cowhand, No-head Nolan, an eccentric vaquero, Beto and Matt's daughter, Daniel is left to drive the cattle along the Shawnee Trail 680 miles to Kansas.

Over the last three centuries, wherever the Chinese have emigrated, they have taken their outlawed secret brotherhoods. Booth tells the story of the Triads, from their beginnings over two thousand years ago to the unrivalled criminal empire they operate today.

The locals in the Italian village where he lives call him Signor Farfalla - Mr Butterfly. But Farfalla's real profession is deadly. Then, perhaps, he can settle down comfortably in the Italian village he has grown to love and enjoy the remainder of his life without constantly looking over his shoulder.

Nicholas Highgate, separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, is smuggled to the mainland by his Chinese nurse and disguised as a Chinese boy. As he grows to manhood he witnesses the atrocities and deprivations of the Japanese occupation and is himself drawn into the Communist resistance activities. The book ends when the Japanese surrender and Nicholas is reunited with what remains of his family.

Shadowed by the unhappiness of his warring parents, a broad-minded mother who, like her son, was keen to embrace all things Chinese, and a bigoted father who was enraged by his family's interest in 'going native', Martin Booth's compelling memoir is a journey into Chinese culture and an extinct colonial way of life.

Whatever the viewpoint, and by whatever name it is known, cannabis - or marijuana, hashish, pot, dope, kif, weed, dagga, grass, ganja - incites debate at every level. In this definitive study, Martin Booth - author of the acclaimed OPIUM: A HISTORY - charts the history of cannabis from the Neolithic period to the present day.