Lukasz Kamienski is Associate Professor at the Faculty of International and Political Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krak�w, Poland
"Who knew that an historical, scholarly psychopharmacology of
soldiering could be a page-turner? It shocks, drives
self-reflection, intellectual excitement, fury at hypocrisy, and
that third Aristotelian katharsis: mental clarification. Above all,
this is a book for citizens." - Jonathan Shay, MD, PhD, former
MacArthur Fellow, Author of Achilles in Vietnam, Combat Trauma and
the Undoing of Character and Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and
the Trials of Homecoming
"Flipping the war on drugs, Kamienski gives us drugs at war, from
the Greeks to high-tech armies, from drugs as tools of combat to
combat as a drug itself. Starting with alcohol and opium, and
ending in Hurt Locker territory, Shooting Up offers a novel and
ambitious survey of a most timely topic." David Courtwright, author
of Forces of Habit"Not only the definitive history of intoxication
in warfare, this beautifully written book offers a deeply informed
humanistic perspective on the addictiveness of war itself. Insights
from Nietzsche, first-person accounts from combat, military
scholarship, and biological explanations are woven together into a
seamless analysis that should be required reading." - Chris Hables
Gray, author of Postmodern War: The New Politics of Conflict"In
Shooting Up: A Short History of Drugs and War, Lukasz Kamienski
provides a diligent examination, keen view, and detailed discussion
of the implications of the long standing, and often controversial
use of drugs in military operations. Shooting Up is a most
interesting read that makes an excellent contribution to the
literature." - Prof. James Giordano, Department of Neurology,
Georgetown University Medical Center"An impressive and accessible
deep dive into the topic...it makes for a bracing and fascinating
study." -- Publishers Weekly"In his profound, troubling, and deeply
informative book, Kamienski investigates the relationship between
intoxicants and warfare... With official approval and
encouragement, the use of certain kinds of drugs has become
widespread in militaries-and so, too, have addiction, sluggish and
erratic behavior, and even hallucinations and paranoia. Kamienski's
rich study starts with ancient Greece but mostly examines events
from the last few centuries, including the Opium Wars and the
Vietnam War, which the author dubs "the first true pharmacological
war." --Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs"Absorbing and
comprehensive."-- The Intercept"Fascinating, immensely detailed and
surprisingly sober... [A] rich and compendious book." -- The Sunday
Times
"An engaging read...a pharmacopoeia of interesting military
history, medical research and cultural anecdote." -- VICE
magazine
"Those who want to build their own thoughts about the direction of
drugged wars would be best served by starting with Kamienski's
highly impressive work."-- War on the Rocks
"Exceedingly informative... [A] gem of a work produced by a
little-known, yet brilliant, academic."--Parameters
"Kamienski has written an engaging book that testifies to the
importance of drug use to the larger story of war in the human
experience. The many myths he helps debunk speaks to the frequent
manipulation of public opinion by governments and the media and to
the convenience of drugs as a scapegoat for policy failures that
invariably end up being repeated."-- Journal of Social History
"Much of [Kamienski's] narrative is fascinating, plenty of it is
new, and he advances some serious arguments."-- Allan Mallinson,
The Spectator"In this compelling book about the history and
prevalence of alcohol and drugs throughout the history of warfare,
Kamienski reveals in copious detail the countless ways
'intoxication, in its various forms, has... been one of the
distinctive features' of human life."-- Antony Loewenstein, The
Guardian
"Kamienski's book is the first comprehensive history of drugs...
and is sure to become a classic."-- Geoffrey Roberts, Irish
Examiner"Shooting Up should be read for its relentless cataloguing
of the role that intoxicants have been put to in the ceaseless
history of human depravity."-- Stuart Walton, Hong Kong Review of
Books"An original and weighty survey of drug use by combatants...
[Kamienski] deserves promotions and rewards. He deals in ideas of
danger, risk-taking, euphoria, pain, disinhibitions and fright...
He demonstrates conclusively that intoxication is a natural and
necessary state for most fighting men." -- Richard Davenport-Hines,
The Oldie"Stories of military drug use are common, but this new
work gives the reader a well-organized, closely documented history
replete with examples." -- Military Heritage"The author takes the
reader on a journey through time... Shooting Up is a great
contribution to the literature on that fundamental resource that is
essential to combat"-- Louis Lillywhite, The World Today
"Kamienski has undertaken a sprawling subject, one that involves
covering much ground in time and space... [and] his chapters on the
Cold War suggest an imaginative attempt to recount the psychoactive
residues of the war on communism and latter-day war
communism."--H-Net
"Shooting Up is a valuable primer for military historians seeking
to understand the enduring role of drugs in combat."--Michigan War
Studies Review"Shooting Up is indeed a great book. The author's
breathtaking description of the interaction of drugs and
war--likely to precede any historical source--is truly
fascinating."
--Perspectives on Politics
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