An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug, Cocaine

Writing this because, a year after finishing this book, I've just noticed it only has a single Amazon UK review! So here I am. Markel did a great job with this. It does what it says on the tin, is well researched, and is just the right length. If the title intrigues you so will the books contents.

This is an excellent, well-written book that tells the story of the cocaine addictions of Sigmund Freud and William Halsted. The author is both a medical doctor and professor of the History of Medicine, and his expertise in both fields clearly shows through in this delightful and informative book. The book provides mini-biographies of both men as well as a history of cocaine. The book is indeed an anatomy of the addiction of these two men, both to cocaine and to morphine, which they took to mitigate the effects of the cocaine. The book details the impact these drugs had on their lives, and also discusses the subject of addiction in general, which I though gave important insights into this subject. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a good biography, the history of medicine, or in a well-written non-fiction book.What is in the book (spoiler alert) -While Freud appears to have eventually overcome his addiction, whereas Halsted appears to never have been completely able to do so and required daily morphine injections to eliminate his cravings for cocaine. There is evidence that he periodically went on cocaine binges, requiring a lifetime of morphine addiction. Contrary to what is sometimes reported, cocaine did not improve either man’s abilities - much to the contrary, the brief sense of euphoria and improved concentration that they believed the drug gave them was more than outweighed by the crash and depression that followed high the drug gave them. Furthermore, the sense of improved concentration and insight that they initially believed the drug gave them proved also to be illusory.Freud eventually gave up the drug after it almost led to the death of a patient, which could have ended, or at least stifled, his medical career. Halsted had to check himself into a mental hospital to rid himself of his cocaine addition, but he relapsed and had to do this several times, eventually settling on periodic cocaine binges and a lifetime of morphine addition. Halsted’s addiction shortchanged his patients, the students he was training and the medical profession in general and is an object lesson in the danger of addiction of any kind. It is unclear how much of Freud’s ideas were cocaine fueled, as much of his work was done after he stopped taking the drug, but it is clear that it was of no real benefit to his thinking.The only positive feature of cocaine was its use as a topical anesthetic, which revolutionized dentistry and eye surgery. Freud mentioned the use of cocaine as a local anesthetic in his treatise on cocaine, Uber Coca, but it was a colleague, Carl Koller who pioneered its use as an anesthetic for eye surgery, thereby gaining the acclaim that Freud regretted missing out on because he was focusing on the psychoactive aspects of the drug. Freud considered cocaine to be a wonder drug, only to become personally acquainted with the ultimately destructive and dangerous aspects of its use. Cocaine as an anesthetic has largely been replaced by synthetic drugs such as Novocain and Lidocaine, which preserve the anesthetic qualities of cocaine, without its addictive and psychoactive affects.

This is the second book by Howard Markel which I've read (the first about the Kellogg brothers), both were fabulous.Both are very well-written and go at a nice clip; "easy reads" but packed with interesting information.Personally, I feel this book could be a bit charged as it deals with addiction and does mention the impact on their work, but one thing I love about Howard Markel's writing is that he presents his facts and opinions and then leaves it alone. None of it is shoved down your throat; he leaves just enough leeway to agree or disagree.There is nothing in a book I like better than one that makes me think, and allows me to think differently - this book does both.

What Howard Markel presents in this beautifully designed book (there is a tone of illustrations, I think somewhere around 130) is not only a in-depth cultural history of cocaine - with morphine and opium heavily features - but a facsinating story of how two great minds and men furthered their careers through the drug.I read in two days, and I am sure that my research into the drugs effect will continue because of this.

I bought this book after hearing a radio interview with Dr. Markel on a local community-based radio station here in Atlanta, and I am so glad that I did! Obviously, I was quite intrigued by the radio interview, but the book was even better and extremely informative about a drug that has affected so many people, including people that I know. The only thing that was a bit hard to follow was the back and forth (from chapter to chapter) between Halsted and Freud. I suppose each man probably deserved a separate book, but I do think that having the two together in one book kept it interesting (I probably would have been really bored had it been all about Freud). Like many others who have commented and left reviews, I was quite eager to finish the book, but most of all, I wanted to find out how each man finally came to terms with his drug abuse. Sadly enough, based on the final chapters, it is too bad that neither seemed to acknowlegde to self or others his reliance on the drug and thus, his chemical dependence and gradual self-destruction. Denial and hiding the addiction are the pillars of drug abuse, or any form of compulsive behavior for that matter, and, no matter who you are in this life, no matter how smart or brilliant, it is quite possible to be caught up in lies and false presentations that lead to unhappiness, guilt, shame, physical/psychological torment and many unfortunate personal embarrassments in spite of professional accomplishment. I felt this message was an important theme throughout the book, or at least it was for me. Thanks Dr. Markel for writing about their struggles with cocaine, other drugs and ambition. I got the message, and hope that it inspires many others, including those like Freud and Halsted who are intellectually gifted and have the means and the resources to hide and rationalize their bondage to powerful drugs or compulsive behaviors (like gambling and sex), to drop the pride and the ego and seek counsel for the underlying issues that lead to drug abuse and compulsive behaviors in the first place. In my opinion, a good, honest life is better than a great high. Good book!