Book Review

Altering American Consciousness: The History of Alcohol and Drug Use in the United States, 1800–2000

N Engl J Med 2004; 351:2778-2779December 23, 2004

Article

Altering American Consciousness: The History of Alcohol and Drug Use in the United States, 1800–2000
Edited by Sarah W. Tracy and Caroline Jean Acker. 414 pp. Amherst, University of Massachusetts Press, 2004. $70 (cloth); $26.95 (paper). ISBN: 1-55849-424-3 (cloth); 1-55849-425-1 (paper).

This book is a salutary complement to the flood of alarmist diatribes about the need for a revitalized “war on drugs” to save the nation from decay and to the well-meaning but tired pleas for greater personal freedom and expression. There are no shrill polemics here and no pretentious proposals for tougher laws or less stringent policies. What the reader will find are interesting snapshots of an erratic historical trajectory that shows how the social context matters more than biochemistry or pharmacology when it comes to shaping how people feel, not only about drugs and those who use them, but even about what it is that we call “drugs” and why.

It is evident that alcohol and drugs have a long and colorful history in the United States, as well as around the world, with patterns of use, attitudes, and even scientific interpretations and pronouncements that have varied widely over time. In this book, 14 authors write about different aspects of such changes during the past 200 years. They demonstrate novel approaches, fresh interpretations, and realistic implications, with chapter subjects as diverse as professionalism among physicians, language and “problem-definition,” the status of Native Americans, sex differences, religion, LSD, and successive fads in the cessation of smoking. Each essay is enjoyable as well as informative, clear, well organized, and self-contained, with end notes and an ample bibliography. The introduction shows how the essays relate to one another and to the theme of the title.

Dwight B. Heath, Ph.D.
Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
dwight_heath@brown.edu