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A renowned authority on the secret world of opium recounts his descent into ruinous obsession with one of the world’s oldest and most seductive drugs, in this harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery.
A natural-born collector with a nose for exotic adventure, San Diego–born Steven Martin followed his bliss to Southeast Asia, where he found work as a freelance journalist. While researching an article about the vanishing culture of opium smoking, he was inspired to begin collecting rare nineteenth-century opium-smoking equipment. Over time, he amassed a valuable assortment of exquisite pipes, antique lamps, and other opium-related accessories—and began putting it all to use by smoking an extremely potent form of the drug called chandu. But what started out as recreational use grew into a thirty-pipe-a-day habit that consumed Martin’s every waking hour, left him incapable of work, and exacted a frightful physical and financial toll. In passages that will send a chill up the spine of anyone who has ever lived in the shadow of substance abuse, Martin chronicles his efforts to control and then conquer his addiction—from quitting cold turkey to taking “the cure” at a Buddhist monastery in the Thai countryside.
At once a powerful personal story and a fascinating historical survey, Opium Fiend brims with anecdotes and lore surrounding the drug that some have called the methamphetamine of the nineteenth-century. It recalls the heyday of opium smoking in the United States and Europe and takes us inside the befogged opium dens of China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The drug’s beguiling effects are described in vivid detail—as are the excruciating pains of withdrawal—and there are intoxicating tales of pipes shared with an eclectic collection of opium aficionados, from Dutch dilettantes to hard-core addicts to world-weary foreign correspondents.
A compelling tale of one man’s transformation from respected scholar to hapless drug slave, Opium Fiend puts us under opium’s spell alongside its protagonist, allowing contemporary readers to experience anew the insidious allure of a diabolical vice that the world has all but forgotten.
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Long prized by collectors and specialist cultivators, orchids are commonly (and mistakenly, as it turns out) believed to be difficult to grow and maintain. In fact, many varieties are as easily grown as any other perennial.
There are as many as 20,000 species with the family Orchidae, including plants that bear some of Earth's most showy and flamboyant flowers. This superb book presents a selection of the most exceptional orchids anywhere, all of which can be cultivated at home. But unlike other books on this topic, Four Seasons of Orchids is divided by the season in which they flower. Compiled by renowned orchid photographer Greg Allikas and recognized orchid expert (and American Orchid Society judge) Ned Nash, the book is organized into four parts, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, making it easy for any horticulturalist to plan his or her orchid year with dazzling displays of color. Full of magnificent, unique photographs and accompanied by a wealth of advice for their cultivation, this book is as beautiful as it is useful.
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The way Nolan speaks about gardening might give the impression that she was raised on a farm. That’s hardly the case, and the book recounts her story of growing up in Winnetka and leaving home soon after she graduated from New Trier High School in search of an opportunity to get closer to nature. Through her experiences, she learned which crops play well together, which ones don’t and why good sunlight and soil are integral to the growing cycle.
Nolan feels that she is living proof that anyone can learn to garden. “Just about anybody, anywhere, can garden and grow several crops,” she notes. “Gardening is very forgiving. Something will always grow.”
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Offers all the know-how you need to create an ideal water feature in any garden. Examines a variety of ponds according to their size and type, from formal to wildlife, and considers their installation and equipment. Well illustrated in color.
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Now, gardeners in New York New Jersey, and Connecticut have a groundbreaking resource, thoroughly researched to address this particular region. "Sunset's all-new "Tri-State Top 10 Garden Guide charts a new path to successful gardening by recommending plants that are easy to find and easy to grow--plants naturally suited to the climatic zones and seasonal conditions of the Tri-state area. Regional gardening notables, including Wayne Cahilly of the New York Botanical Garden, contributed to the plant selection process and text.
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