Drugs are a weird subject by default. You know they exist; you may know some of them and some of their effects. But how many of us know their history? What about how they work and how much science knows about them?

And this is where this book shines. Covering many different substances, the author goes in great detail into the fascinating stories about drugs and their discoveries, the chemical features that make them relevant and the ways they interact with the brain.

After reading it, and notwithstanding the inherent complexity of the chemistry involved, you’ll have a much broader understanding on this controversial but unavoidable subject. If the use of drugs is rampant in our contemporary world, knowing about them will at least give you a saner perspective and a much more informed position about the whens and hows they came to be what they are. ( )

Despite glaring issues, this book has still earned four stars.

Shall we start with the issues?

First, it is poorly edited. I would expect better from OUP. If this book is to live up to its full potential, such things as errors in punctuation, missing words, and inconsistencies in the explanatory figures peppering the text must be resolved.

Second, Miller includes two epistles which are each presented as being from one famous individual to another. While the information contained in them seems, to the best of my often faulty knowledge, accurate, I couldn't track down any record of these letters actually existing. A single note addresses that two paragraphs of one letter were adapted from an actual letter, implying perhaps that the rest was written by Miller. This makes me wonder if Miller didn't pen the first himself as well. Used as literary devices for furthering the layout of his book, such letters are totally acceptable; what is less acceptable is failing to make it more thoroughly clear that these are fictional/semi-fictional letters. Maybe, however, I have simply misunderstood.

Third, Miller is clearly a professor of pharmacology and not a writer. This is okay and to be expected, but it made for choppy and silly style from time to time.

"But Turambar," you ask, "how can you possibly justify four stars‽"

Well, I almost didn't rate this book highly. Then I realized I loved every moment of reading it, despite the issues, and felt that I had learned more in 300 pages (and change) than I had for a long time. This book fills what I perceive to be a problematic void. Too often, science writing is either too technical to follow for the uninitiated or too simple to be of any use. I have run across too few book-length writings which fall in between the two extremes. I believe that this book, however, caters to laypeople without insulting them. I have only a basic education in biology and chemistry, but felt that I rigorously understood the vast majority of the scientific side of Miller's explorations. Not only did I understand, but Miller kept me fascinated the entire way through.

What's more, Miller synthesizes the science and culture of the drugs he explores, just as the subtitle promises. This is an important move because developments in drug chemistry affect the culture which then affects drug chemistry once more. Plus, we always stand to benefit when we gain interdisciplinary understanding of a topic, so I was thrilled by Miller's approach.

In summary, expect some frustrations but absolutely read this book if you are at all interested in recreational drugs, medical drugs, or the relationship between the two. ( )