In the book "Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China," the authors enlighten the reader about opium use and trades in China. Authors Dikotter, Laamann, and Zhou work together on manifesting a contrasting, more elegant side of this historical story, which includes information from the early 1600's all the way through to the mid 1900's. The focus of this novel is to portray China as a place where opium was used as an indigenous addition to an already well established culture, and that the true opium addiction crisis was triggered not by the drug itself, but by the Western 'anti-opium medications' which followed in the hype of its prohibition.
The authors did a fantastic job of organizing how they present their case study. After their introduction, there is a chapter dedicated to the global spread of psychoactive substances, which gives the reader underlining information about the spread and use of substances in various countries, including China. The rest of the novel is segregated into chapters that follow a chronological order. This is key factor to what makes the book so easily understood and interesting, because it lets the reader acquire the necessary knowledge in a chronological way, therefore spinning a web of historical connections one can make as the book moves on. Each chapter begins with a paragraph that summarizes the focus of said chapter, which aids the reader in retaining and attentively focusing on the main points and discussion. Within the chapters, there are subdivided sections that explore various ideas towards the chapter's focus. For example, the chapter "Opium for the People" has subheadings that pertain to the myths of opium dens, opium suicide, and much more. These headings really guide the reader and bold the focus and intention of each segment. In addition to a well thought out organization, the authors included a series of photographs mid-way through the book.
