Human History on Drugs is an entertaining (and, yes, slightly scandalous) look at drug use by historical figures through the ages. Each chapter discusses a different celebrity/ruler/random historically significant person and their pharmaceutical(s) of choice, from The Oracle of Delphi to Friedrich Nietzsche to Steve Jobs. The chapters are short but informative, each giving a bit of history on the person in question and how their drug use affected their work and life in general. Some of the individuals I already knew were drug-enthusiasts (Johnny Cash, Aldous Huxley), some were a surprise (JFK, Richard Nixon), and a couple I'd never heard of before at all (Audie Murphy, Dock Ellis). And, well, basically what I learned is that meth has been around for a lot longer and is much more popular than I'd ever imagined, and also that those of us who were born in the latter half of the the twentieth century (or later) really missed out on the golden age of doctors handing out highly addictive substances like they were Tic Tacs. Figuratively, anyway … I highly doubt that doctors hand out Tic Tacs on the regular.

Don't expect anything particularly deep here – this is a fairly light and fluffy read and I finished it in just under two days (a rarity for me and nonfiction). Each chapter is a quick overview, nothing that gets down into the nitty gritty of the subject's life. The writing, though, is amusing and witty, and I really enjoyed the little nuggets of history sprinkled throughout the book. I found the chapter on Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) to be particularly enlightening and had no idea that he had been subjected to the CIA's MK-Ultra's LSD experiments.

This book is also a little sad. So many talented people had their lives ruined by addiction (and in many cases died young because of it). But would they have been as creative and driven had they never touched the illicit substance(s) that caused their downfall? Poor Philip K. Dick, though. Amphetamines might've helped him write, but once you start seeing pink laser beams shooting out of Jesus fish necklaces, you should probably check yourself into rehab, like, pronto.

Overall, this is an entertaining and informative book that probably uses the word “laudanum” more than any other book in recent history. It reads more like a celebrity tell-all than a history textbook, which I imagine will delight some readers and disappoint others. But if you're looking for a light and humorous read about famous drug users throughout history, look no further: Human History on Drugs will get you high on knowledge. (Yeah, yeah, that's a ridiculously cheesy sentence and I totally keep reading it in Ali G's voice, but I needed a drug-related pun and that's the best I can come up with right now, okay?? Booyakasha.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Plume for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected release date is July 8, 2025.