NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A renowned authority on the secret world of opium recounts his descent into ruinous obsession with one of the world’s oldest and most seductive drugs, in this harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery. A natural-born collector with a nose for exotic adventure, San Diego–born Steven Martin followed his bliss to Southeast Asia, where he found work as a freelance journalist. While researching an article about the vanishing culture of opium smoking, he was inspired to begin collecting rare nineteenth-century opium-smoking equipment. Over time, he amassed a valuable assortment of exquisite pipes, antique lamps, and other opium-related accessories—and began putting it all to use by smoking an extremely potent form of the drug called chandu. But what started out as recreational use grew into a thirty-pipe-a-day habit that consumed Martin’s every waking hour, left him incapable of work, and exacted a frightful physical and financial toll. In passages that will send a chill up the spine of anyone who has ever lived in the shadow of substance abuse, Martin chronicles his efforts to control and then conquer his addiction—from quitting cold turkey to taking “the cure” at a Buddhist monastery in the Thai countryside. At once a powerful personal story and a fascinating historical survey, Opium Fiend brims with anecdotes and lore surrounding the drug that some have called the methamphetamine of the nineteenth-century. It recalls the heyday of opium smoking in the United States and Europe and takes us inside the befogged opium dens of China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The drug’s beguiling effects are described in vivid detail—as are the excruciating pains of withdrawal—and there are intoxicating tales of pipes shared with an eclectic collection of opium aficionados, from Dutch dilettantes to hard-core addicts to world-weary foreign correspondents. A compelling tale of one man’s transformation from respected scholar to hapless drug slave, Opium Fiend puts us under opium’s spell alongside its protagonist, allowing contemporary readers to experience anew the insidious allure of a diabolical vice that the world has all but forgotten.

Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction

Martin, Steven

Biographies & Memoirs

Villard

You Are Here: A Guide to Everyday Maps Plans and Diagrams

Education & Teaching

Studying & Workbooks

New Readers Pr

The Simeon Chamber

Lawyer Sam Bogardus's client believed her natural father died years ago in a bizarre accident. But now,she's received word that he's still alive and tied to a hidden fortune. Sam's investigation uncovers a webof conspiracy so shocking that it's enough to make the lawyer take the law into his own hands.

Literature & Fiction

Tudor Publishers

Christianity and Party Politics

Taylor&Francis

Should you go to Myanmar (Burma)? There are strong arguments both for and against visiting the country. We highlight both sides of the argument in our guidebook and believe that individuals should make a fully informed decision about whether to visit the country.
Read our full introductory chapter now This chapter from the latest Myanmar (Burma) guide offers more detailed information in the following sections:
<ul>
<li>Should you visit Myanmar?</li>
<li>Reasons not to go v. reason to go</li>
<li>Myanmar Today</li>
<li>If you decide to go...</li>
</ul>

Myanmar (Burma) (Lonely Planet)

Travel

Asia

Lonely Planet Publications

This guide includes information on accommodation and places to eat for every budget. It covers what to do and see in the region and offers tips on getting the best out of your visit and how to get-off-the-beaten-track.

Lonely Planet Philippines

Grosberg, Michael

Rowthorn, Chris

Choy, Monique

Orchard, Sonia

Lonely Planet

The Rough Guide to Cambodia is the ultimate guide to this increasingly popular destination. Features include a full-colour section introducing Cambodia''s highlights, from the world renowned towers of Angkor Wat to the stunning tropical beaches of Sihanoukville. In true Rough Guide style, the authors provide evocative and in-depth accounts of all the country''s attractions, including the floating villages of Tonle Sap and the atmospheric mountain scenery of Rattanakiri. Critical reviews reveal the best places to stay, eat and drink, plus a detailed guide to Cambodia''s intriguing cuisine. There are also in-depth features on Cambodian history, religion, temple art and architecture.

The Rough Guide to Cambodia 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Palmer, Beverley

Rough Guides

The Rough Guide to Laos is your definitive guide to this fascinating country. The 24-page full-colour introduction highlights all the ‘things not to miss’, from the Buddhist temples of Louang Phabang to the French colonial architecture of Vientiane, Laos'' capital. The guide reviews all the top places to stay, eat and drink to suit every budget and the brand-new ‘author’s picks’ feature highlights the very best options. Whether you want to go elephant-trekking in the jungle or explore the caves at Vang Viang this guide has all the practical advice you will need. There are detailed chapters on Laos’ history, religion, art and culture and maps and plans for every region.
The Rough Guide to Laos is like having a local friend plan your trip.

The Rough Guide to Laos (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Cranmer, Jeff

The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei is the definitive guide to these three fascinating Southeast Asian countries. There’s detailed coverage of Malaysia’s superb natural attractions, including Taman Negara – the Peninsula’s main national park, with its four gateways – and, in Sabah and Sarawak, Mount Kinabalu and the limestone pinnacles at Mulu. Great beaches and islands also get full attention, including the islands of Langkawi, the Perhentians and the dive mecca of Sipidan. There’s plenty on the indigenous tribes of Borneo too, including how to make upriver trips to traditional longhouses. The book also provides the lowdown on Singapore’s burgeoning entertainment scene – from alternative gigs to cutting-edge theatre – and uncovers the secret charms of secluded Brunei. All the background you need to get the best out of these multicultural nations is here, including a food vocabulary to help you order the best Malay, Chinese and Indian fare, and insights into local etiquette.

The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

LEWIS, MARK

de Ledesma, Charles

Savage, Pauline

INTRODUCTION Less than a decade ago, Laos was more or less unknown to Western travellers. Other than a brief period during the 1960s, when the diminutive Buddhist kingdom became a player in the Vietnam War, it has remained a backwater – a situation that only intensified after the 1975 revolution and the years of xenophobic communist government that ensued, when the former French colony was largely forgotten, at least by the West. However, when the Lao People’s Democratic Republic reluctantly reopened its doors to the outside world in the 1990s, after its major source of aid dried up with the collapse of the Soviet Union, a trickle of visitors braved the travel restrictions and exorbitant visa costs to have a look. What they found was a poverty-stricken country stunted by war and politics and still doing things the old-fashioned way. The mighty Mekong and its tributaries were still the principal conduits for trade and, for much of the population, a pair of legs was the chief means of transport. Only a handful of provinces were wired for electricity, and Vientiane, the capital, was a sleepy town of tree-lined avenues, decaying French villas and a surviving opium den or two. Tourist infrastructure was almost nonexistent, and the very inadequacies that made travel in Laos unique were also causes of exasperation. In the past few years, however, Laos has become much more accessible. Visa prices have come down and restrictions on travel have been all but lifted. In the major towns and cities there is good-value accommodation and a surprisingly diverse array of cuisines on offer. Conditions in the countryside, however, remain primitive and challenging, but travellers willing to brave difficult roads and basic, candlelit accommodation will be rewarded with sights of a landscape and people not much changed from those that greeted French explorers a century ago. Laos’s lifeline is the Mekong River, which runs the length of the landlocked country, at times bisecting it and at others serving as a boundary with Thailand. The rugged Annamite Mountains also run much of the country’s length and historically have acted as a buffer against Vietnam, with which Laos shares its eastern border. Much of Laos is forested and, despite the ongoing use of the slash-and-burn technique of agriculture, there are still considerable tracts of dense forest inhabited by myriad animal species. Tigers and other majestic cats, all but vanished from neighbouring countries, still stalk the hinterlands of Laos, and new species of large mammals are still being discovered, such as the deer-like soala or spindlehorn. There is even an endangered colony of rare freshwater dolphins inhabiting an isolated stretch of the Mekong. For such a small country – its population is about 5.6 million – Laos is surprisingly diverse in terms of its people. Colourfully dressed hilltribes populate the higher elevations, while in the lowland river valleys, coconut palms sway over the Buddhist monasteries of the ethnic Lao. Laos also retains some of the French influence it absorbed during colonial days: the familiar smell of freshly baked bread and coffee mingles with exotic local aromas in morning markets. Economic reforms undertaken in the early Nineties gave the green light to Lao entrepreneurs, but recent economic woes have hamstrung the fledgling capitalists. The future is unclear, as the revolutionary old-guard remains firmly at the helm but with little idea of which course to steer. For the visitor using US dollars, there are bargains to be had, and while accommodation and modes of transport are often very basic, they give visitors ample opportunity to rub shoulders with the people of Laos: a gentle and fun-loving folk whose patience and resilience continue to help them weather tough times.

The Rough Guide to Laos 2nd edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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