A lively, hilarious, and entirely truthful look at the drug use and history's most famous figures, including Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, and the Beatles, from debut author Sam Kelly.

Did you know that Alexander the Great was a heavy drinker, William Shakespeare was a marijuana user, and George Washington drank a spoonful of opium every night to alleviate the pain from his false teeth? Or how about the fact that China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, ingested liquid mercury in an (ironic) attempt to live forever, or that Alexander Shulgin, inventor of no fewer than 230 new psychedelic drugs, was an employee of the DEA?

In Human History on Drugs, historian Sam Kelly introduces us to the history we weren't taught in school, offering irreverent and hilarious commentary as he sheds light on some truly shocking aspects of the historical figures we thought we knew. With chapters spanning from Ancient Greece ('The Oracle of Delphi Was Inhaling Fumes') and the Victorian Era ('Vincent van Gogh Ate Yellow Paint') to Hollywood's Golden Age ('Judy Garland Was Drugged by Adults') and modern times ('Carl Sagan Got Astronomically High'), Kelly's research covers all eras, places, and of course, drugs.

History is full of drug use and drug users, and Human History on Drugs takes us through those highs (pun intended) and lows in a witty and entertaining journey that uncovers their seriously unexpected impact on our past.

Pages: 400, Dimensions: 15.3x15.3cm