Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography
Encyclopedia
Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography (ISBN 0312286244) is a 2002 non-fiction book about the history of cocaine
, written by Dominic Streatfeild and published by Diane Publishing Company. The 2003 paperback edition (ISBN 0-312-42226-1) was published by Picador
. The book investigates cocaine
from the chewing of the coca
leaf to the large scale trafficking of cocaine into the United States
.
Streatfeild goes into lucid detail about the history that the coca leaf had with the Native Americans and their Spanish overlords. He also investigates the life and impact of the world's most famous cocaine addict, Sigmund Freud
. Written with sobering statistics and personal humor, Streatfeild travels to a number of locations, including to New York, indigenous areas of South America, and ultimately to Colombia
to meet with the Ochoa family. Prior to his trip to Colombia, is unable to obtain life-insurance, and proceeds without it.
Within the book, the author interviews some of the most notorious figures directly involved in the distribution of Cocaine including George Jung
, whose life story was depicted in the 2001 film Blow
and "Freeway" Ricky Ross
, the man attributed with the explosion of Cocaine use in California in the 1980s.
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, written by Dominic Streatfeild and published by Diane Publishing Company. The 2003 paperback edition (ISBN 0-312-42226-1) was published by Picador
Picador (imprint)
Picador is an imprint of Pan Macmillan in the United Kingdom and Australia and of Macmillan Publishing in the United States. Both companies are owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group....
. The book investigates cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
from the chewing of the coca
Coca
Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
leaf to the large scale trafficking of cocaine into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Streatfeild goes into lucid detail about the history that the coca leaf had with the Native Americans and their Spanish overlords. He also investigates the life and impact of the world's most famous cocaine addict, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. Written with sobering statistics and personal humor, Streatfeild travels to a number of locations, including to New York, indigenous areas of South America, and ultimately to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to meet with the Ochoa family. Prior to his trip to Colombia, is unable to obtain life-insurance, and proceeds without it.
Within the book, the author interviews some of the most notorious figures directly involved in the distribution of Cocaine including George Jung
George Jung
George Jacob Jung , nicknamed "Boston George", was a major player in the cocaine trade in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung was a part of the Medellín Cartel which was responsible for up to 85 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States . He specialized in the...
, whose life story was depicted in the 2001 film Blow
Blow (film)
Blow is a 2001 biopic about the American cocaine smuggler George Jung, directed by Ted Demme. David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes adapted Bruce Porter's 1993 book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellín Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All for the screenplay. It is based on the real...
and "Freeway" Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross (drug trafficker)
Ricky Donnell Ross , also known as "Freeway" Rick Ross, is a convicted drug trafficker best known for the "drug empire" that he presided over in Los Angeles, California, in the early-1980s...
, the man attributed with the explosion of Cocaine use in California in the 1980s.
External Links
- My deal with old king coke, Dominic Streatfeild, Guardian/The Observer, 20th May 2001
- The Candy Machine: How Cocaine Took Over the World, Tom Feiling, The Guardian, 5th September 2009
- Cocaine: Hidden in Plain Sight, Melena Ryzik, New York Times, June 10th 2007