INSIDE CAMP X
By Lynn Philip Hodgson
During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built
Specifically for Training Allied Spies. This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training,Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War. The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of
Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth is a prominent Shakespearean actor and
producer in Canada.

CAMP X
The true story of what went on behind the fences of
STS - 103 (Camp - X) This top secret World War II
Secret Agent Training School was strategically placed
in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario.

As outlined in his biography The Life of Ian Fleming written by John Pearson after
the war, Fleming was required to take the same training as the Camp - X Agents
in order to realize the effect of the process and to have a better appreciation for
what the Agents endured. On one occasion, he was sent inside with orders to
shoot and kill the man he would find hiding in an upstairs bedroom.

Unbeknownst to Fleming, his intended target was in fact the Chief Instructor of
Camp - X, Major William Ewart Fairbairn, a man who, it was fabled, was so good
at his trade that he could dodge bullets! Pearson quotes William Stephenson,
Head of the British Security Co-ordination, as having said, "It was a test of nerve....
a test to decide whether he (the Agent) really was ruthless enough to kill a man
when it came down to it." According to the account, Fleming waited outside the
room for a time, then went away. "You know, I couldn't really kill a man that way."
Stephenson said Fleming apologized later. Fleming drew from this and his other
experiences with Agents from Camp - X to write his famous 'James Bond' novels.

"On the subject of books, permit me to suggest a newly-released title that will make great reading for you or for those Canadian history buffs on your gift list.

'Inside Camp X' , by Lynn-Philip Hodgson, recounts the fascinating story behind the top-secret training school for spies established in 1941 by William (A Man Called Intrepid" Stephenson, smack on the border between the then rural communities of Whitby and Oshawa.

Until now, only a small cairn and plaque have reminded us of the important role played by Camp X and its "students" in the successful outcome of the war. Now, thanks to Hodgson's detailed and colourful accounting, the story can be better understood and appreciated."

Mike Filey - The Way We Were The Sunday Sun (Toronto)

"On the subject of books, permit me to suggest a newly-released title that will make great reading for you or for those Canadian history buffs on your gift list.

"Inside Camp X' , by Lynn-Philip Hodgson, recounts the fascinating story behind the top-secret training school for spies established in 1941 by William (A Man Called Intrepid" Stephenson, smack on the border between the then rural communities of Whitby and Oshawa.

Until now, only a small cairn and plaque have reminded us of the important role played by Camp X and its "students" in the successful outcome of the war.

Now, thanks to Hodgson's detailed and colourful accounting, the story can be better understood and appreciated."

Mike Filey - The Way We Were The Sunday Sun (Toronto)

The late Alan Booth was married to a Japanese woman, spoke fluent Japanese and had lived in Japan for quite some time when he decided to walk all the way from the north to the south of the country. He walked gruelling distances (up to 40 kilometers a day with a heavy backpack) and slept in real Japanese ryokans, eating Japanese food, soaking in Japanese baths and drinking Japanese drinks. The ultimate Japan experience.

I read this book while travelling through Japan and it described exactly what I was experiencing. I did not speak a word of Japanese (this in stark contrast to the author). People were very friendly and helpful, but you always felt the distance they were keeping because to Japanese foreigners are really strange. Alan Booth has at times hilarious accounts in the book of ryokan-owners who do not want to give him a room because "he does not speak Japanese" (the conversation is in Japanese), "a foreigner cannot sleep on a futon" (he has one at home), " a foreigner will not like Japanese food" (he has been living and eating in Japan for a long time) and 1001 other fake reasons. On the other hand he meets lots of very friendely people who overcome their xenophobia and help him along.

The book mainly focusses on the first part of his hike. At the end of the book the account of the trip becomes too intermittent for my taste: I wanted to learn more about the southern part of the country.

If you decide to travel to Japan, read this book, it will make you understand better what is happening to you. And if you do not travel to Japan, read it anyway because it a wonderful account of a hiking-trip through a very special country.

"The Roads to Sata" is a foreigner's (British) account of his 2,000 mile walking journey from the country's northernmost to southernmost tip along the, mostly rural, Japan Sea side of the country in the early 1980s. What makes the book especailly enjoyable is what Mr. Booth brings to the table: fluency in Japanese; a familarity with the country and its culture from having lived there for half his life; a wry wit and an observant, thoughful mind.

Most of the narrative deals with Mr. Booth's encounters with Japanese from all walks of life along the road and in the inns and bars he visits.

Having lived in the country and revisted it on numerous occassions the book generated quite a bit of nostalgia for me and I also enjoyed Mr. Booth's take on the country and its society. If you've never been to Japan and you're looking for a book to help you get a real feel for the Japanese people you couldn't do much better than this book.

I enjoyed this book very much. The writing keeps pace with the author's careful look at Japan. His British humor adds wonderful moments, my favorite of which involve rainy nights on the beach and the strangeness of Japanese pornography. Like an earlier reviewer, I find this story to be as much about Alan Booth's introspection as it is about Japan. The walk is a mere backdrop for Booth the observer to share his insights on life. And they are accurate insights. This is one of the few examples of travel writing that can be enjoyed by everybody, regardless of whether they adore the destination being explored.

This book is for you if you are first time writing some code keeping performance in mind but may not be very useful for experience programmer. I found it collection of many techniques at one place but nothing absolutely new.

I found this book to be an invaluable aid in fine tuning my code. Not just for the detailed information about the true performance of the various Intel processors, but also the excellant algorithms for some very common problems. This book needs to be owned by anyone doing serious assembly programming

This is the best book I know of when it comes to learning how to optimize code for maximum performance on an Intel Pentium, Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro, or Pentium II processor. It is also great for learning about how the processors work. Rick gives a very easy to understand explanation of several advanced concepts such as branch prediction, stalls, address generation interlocks, L1 and L2 caches, and instruction pairing. Every little idiosyncrasy and quirk of the Pentium that may slow down your code is explained so that that you can avoid them all. In many cases, Rick gives you a lot more information than any of official Intel documentation. He also corrects several of Intel's timing charts that do not accurately reflect the real world performance of the Pentium processor. Most of this information is understandable and useful even if you program in C or C++. In other words, you don't have to be writing in assembly language to be concerned about branch prediction, cache lines and the other topics covered in the book. This book is a must have for anyone writing performance code on an Pentium processor and recommended to anyone curious about how the Pentium processor works from a software perspective.

Having been a Stones fan for ever I was looking forward to reading this book, however at first I put it right back down again as the author's style was a bit hard to get into. Later when I picked it up and got through the Author Block on my behalf I found this to be a really well written insight into the the Stones and what went on around them. Having sampled first hand in some ways the lifestyles described in this book I found it bringing back memories good and bad of those times when I doubt if anyone really knew what was going.on.
This is really two books in one the history of the Stones and memories of hanging out with the Stones themselves.
A great book overall.
I hope that Stanley Booth is rewarded justly for the work he put into this book he deserves it, as do the Stones for the work they have done over the years.

What makes this book so amazing? Author Stanley Booth captures the most popular rock band of all time by actually being there with the band as a friend, through some of the most memorable moments in the history of music: Booth is there at Altamont when a spectator is killed by the Hell's Angels (and Booth appears in the movie on the concert), he's there when Jimi Hendrix is with the Rolling Stones backstage, he's there when Janis Joplin is playing before the Stones come on, he's there when the Stones are hanging out with Chuck Berry, he hangs out in a recording studio when the Stones record, and he goes to London to view Brian Jones' grave and goes to Jones' parents' home to interview them. Booth is like a ghost that will always be there in the soul of music and of the Rolling Stones. This book should be required reading in college writing courses to teach young writers how to write with excitement and reality. Every page is a masterpiece!

Talk about a masterpiece; this is one! Stanley Booth was a struggling rock journalist who managed, through persistent effort and good timing, to land a regular slot on the 1969 "Let It Bleed" tour of the Rolling Stones across these United States. What was supposed to be a simple, intelligent chronicle of a rock band's work became a chilling time capsule of the end of an era, and possibly, of a dream as well, when the band's disastrous appearance at the Altamont concert rang down the curtain on the Sixties hippie dream of world peace and brotherhood. This is not just a book detailing the Stones' many misadventures with the law, with drugs, with reckless groupies and sycophants and promoters, as you might expect; nor it is simply a grisly blow-by-blow of the tragic events of that December night in the northern California wilderness, when a vicious pack of Hells' Angels stabbed a young concertgoer to death, literally a few feet from where Mick Jagger sang "Gimme Shelter" and "Sympathy for the Devil" as Keith Richards and the other Stones churned out those classic songs behind him. You will find those contents in here, but they are only a fraction of the treasures this book contains. (Booth freely admits that his womanizing during this tour cost him his marriage, and he is as unsparing in his critiques of the Stones, whom he truly loves, as he is towards his own failings.) You can almost see, hear, feel the chaos, the majesty, the confusion, and the power of the events he's describing; each character comes wonderfully to life, through his use of interwoven, somewhat kaleidoscopic scene changes, flashbacks and flash-forwards, stream of consciousness and grimly bare-boned narrative. Brilliant, hilarious, loathsome, mesmerizing, harrowing, glorious...many such adjectives could apply to the events and personalities depicted in this epic book of rock excess and human misadventure. I'd like to write another review, just so I could give it five more reviews - it's that good!

The title is a promising one, if you're interested in JWB and the Lincoln assassination; and the compilation is thorough, if what you want is to have the complete known products surviving from JWB. The problem is that 90% of what does survive (thus 90% of this book) is really insignificant stuff that sheds very little light on the man's ideas, opinions, or thoughts. It's mostly brief, impersonal, non-revealing notes written to confirm theatrical engagements, &c., &c. Much of it is repetitive variations on a few business-oriented themes. Too bad this is al that survives from him!

This is an interesting book regarding the state of mind of the wealthy and famous actor of the time. The book carefully places his letters chronologically and also backs them by giving historic references and explanations of the events that surrounded the man. How his "flowery-like" letters could ever hint at a man struggling with the problems of the country isn't told in them. It's ironic from such writing that this man who had fame, fortune and social approval also had a deep and ever growing anger against northern politics. His inner anger seemed depressed awaiting a chance to explode. This book easily portrays Booth as a caring man yet also one who sympathized with the Southern cause. It briskly explains his premeditated thoughts of assassinating Lincoln and has little information regarding putting his thoughts into motion. Yes, this book is about his letters and offers a quick coverage of the events surrounding Booth before and after the killing of Lincoln. For those looking for a complete biography this book isn't the one. For those looking for added insight who may have already read about Booth before, this is a great bonus of information.

In my opinion "Right or Wrong,God Judge Me" is a blessing;mostly for the masses growing up believing only one side to a twisting and tragic tale.John Wilkes Booth is humanized,he is presented as a multi dimensional conflicted individual,far from the "mad man" we were all taught to despise for his repulsive crime against the US government and Lincoln. The evil I once thought he posessed is not the main struggle of his personality;his struggle seems to more or less be over his love and jealousy of brother Edwin and his fears of being loved and admired.His heart is tormented by the carnage of the Civil War,which in turn causes him to side with just about anyone who hates Lincoln. As I found by reading the book,he was not as mad as I once believed,but seemed more a sad and lonely man admired mostly for his looks yet he seemed to be upset about the sexual objectivity given to his person,hence he burned fan mail sent to him by rather amourous ladies,I feel from reading this book that he needed more than theatre and adoration from screaming females;he wanted to be taken seriously and make a difference in the world.Unfortunately he chose a rather brutal means of attaining this goal. I do think that his appearance can somewhat color judgement.Do we feel more sorry for him because he was extremely handsome? I wonder if he would have been homely if he would have gotten as much sympathy? Maybe not,but still I understand his mentality better and why he turned out the way he did.

This book is a must at any stage of research for students (and professors) of all levels. The book offers examples from diverse disciplines (English, Chemistry, Sociology) and offers advice applicable to all fields. It's an incredibly simple read. Some parts are less useful than others, but overall, the publication is very helpful.

Very elegantly written, this book covers the research process in detail. I think this book is so important, unless a researcher for 20 years, everyone involved in research must master this book carefully, re-reading it several times if necessary. The authors do an excellent job of condensing in this book what would be learned in 20 years of research with trial and error techniques.

This book will fill in all the gaps about research that your professors assume you already know. Clear and concise, it lays out best practice for this essential scholarly skill without academic hyperbole. It's also oddly reassuring in its tone. The writers/professors admit that they've made some embarrassing mistakes in their own research -- and have lived to tell the tale. They emphasize that good research skills are not necessarily innate, but that they can be learned and applied. Just an invaluable resource - highly recommend this book!

Booth's book about the history of the Triads gives a decent account of the lore and background. However, it reads kind of dry- I'm not sure if it's because after awhile all the Chinese names all seem to run together, or what... The book reads like a very academic endeavor, which is fine- I've read a number of criminology books that take that approach. While very informative, "The Dragon Syndicates" isn't a gripping page turner by any stretch of the imagination.

Martin Booths "The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the Triads" is a very comphrensive account of the Triads which starts with study of chinese history, and works its way all the way up to modern day Triad activity. This is a very informative type of read, at times may find it lengthy, but the author provides a very detailed account of the history of the Triads. The numerous accounts of secret societys of many types is fascinating, whether it be merchants banding toghether to protect themselves, or others fighting for patriotic causes, or as more recently criminal groups working to build wealth and wealth alone. I was surprised at how deeply involved these societies were/are involved in chinese politics, culture etc and at the extent to which the Triads have spread globally. I also liked the picture inserts in middle of book, which among other things showed Triad Cermonial ware, Weapons, surveillance pictures. Martin Booth's " The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon" is a book worth having, one that you can reread many a time.

This is an excellent book, giving a great insight into Triad culture and its history, and how both are intrinsicly linked to the Chinese mindset. At times it is a little dry, and especially for a Western reader, the names and locations can be introduced so expediently that you have to take a breath and put the names into perspective. However, it is a very solid background read and will have you wanting to read more into the subject matter and the particular persons of historical importance that are discussed.

A truly exciting debut. This book is a theatrical production--a triumphant coming together of imagination, personality and style.

Once again the Yale Series of Younger Poets has brought a wonderful collection to print. Maurice Manning's "Lawrence Booth's Book of Visions" is a deeply intense book of poems that is likely to affect every reader that comes across it. At times frightening, the poems are about the world of a boy named Lawrence Booth, or Law, at different points during his childhood and adolescence. The characters and events are recounted in a wonderfully vivid manner, but much of the time you are left wondering what is really is occurring in Law's life, and what is just a "vision."
The most remarkable aspect of this book is the use of voice. Different poems are written in different ways, which contributes to the animated nature of the book. At one end of the spectrum are the "Dreadful Chapters" which are written in a backwoods voice that, on the page, may look confusing because of spelling, but when read aloud are amazingly real and powerful: "An why come Law git stuck wit such a name / dat he alway cipher wrong from right-- / so much he git a tooth-clench mood to fight?" (from "Dreadful Chapter Two). At the opposite end is a more elegant voice that uses beautiful metaphors: "Sheepish as a far off echo, Lawrence Booth wades / into the Great Fields and the wide-yawning night" (from "Bellwether"). And, of course, there are countless voices to be found in this collection that lie somewhere in between these two extremes.
One thing must be noted is that this collection is difficult to understand. The poems are not in chronological order, and are sometimes missing some information that is given in another poem later or earlier in the book. Furthermore, some poems are "unconventional." One is in the form of a geometry proof, and another is a complaint form. Personally, though, I think that the search for answers in this book is a big part of the joy in reading it. Piecing together information, finding links between poems because of a certain voice, phrase, or word used, and concentrating on the imagery and form was a pleasure to do, and it really added to the experience of the book. I feel that the ambiguity within the pages helps to suggest the uncertainty in Law's life.
I have rated Manning's book at five out of five stars. It was undoubtedly the best book of poetry I have come across this year, and I am sure he will be bringing us more in the future.

Compelling and captivating, this book kept me engrossed from cover to cover. The book keeps you guessing from beginning to end and hence engages the reader at all times. In the book, Maurice Manning gives us glimpses from the life of Lawrence Booth but holds back the entire picture and it is like a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing and hence the reader, trying to see the complete picture, is constantly guessing.
That is not the only charm that the book has. What is fascinating is that it is an adult painting a vision of the world through the eyes of a child and not just any child but the strange Lawrence Booth; a child with a fascinating and vivid imagination and a vision of the world that is colored by his troubled home life. A window in to the hopes, dreams and experiences of Lawrence, one cannot help but fall in love with this strange, distressed boy. Your heart goes out to this boy who has been robbed of a childhood due to his difficult family circumstances.
If it seems that the book is a collection of melodramatic and melancholic poems, it is certainly not true. For what stands out most in all these poems is the courage and spunk of Lawrence Booth. His indomitable spirit shines through each poem bringing forth a sense of self-deprecating humor despite his hard family life for he is "The boy with the brains God gave a goose. The boy who took thirteen rabies shots in the belly." This removes any possible air of depression from the book in fact the straight, matter of fact and brutally honest narration gives the book a humorous quality. The language used is honest and in the poems called "Dreadful chapters" it is written as it is spoken. His ability to capture in words not only the accent but also the true feelings and emotions make this book fascinating to read.
There is a wide variety of poems in this short collection for poems like "Shady Grove" will make you think of profound questions, the "Dreadful Chapters" might make you cringe with their language or disturbing scenarios, "Prisoner of Conscience" and "Seventeen" will make you laugh out loud at their blunt sincerity while poems such as "Beck" and "Complain" will astound you with their unconventional formats. Hence, even though the central characters remain the same, each poem offers something new and keeps the reader guessing where it fits in, into the greater picture of Lawrence Booth's life.
During the course of the book it is impossible to dissociate the voice of Manning from that of Booth, which is evidence of the success of the poetry, by the end you are immersed in Booth's friendship with Black Damon, his attachment to Red Dog and his love for the mysterious, Missionary Woman. this book is fascinating and interesting to read. Although some of the images and ideas are violent are disturbing they are thought provoking and sincere. And like any good book of poetry this book will leave you crying and laughing and most important of all, wanting you to come back to it again.

Children of the Promise is an attractive and well-presented argumentfor the paedobaptist position. Formerly a Baptist pastor, Booth writessimply and with the sensitivity of one who has wrestled seriously with the doctrine of baptism, settling into the paedobaptist position. His call for charity toward one another with open Bibles is a needed call which resonates with every true Christian.

Developing his argument along the lines of a theology of the biblical covenants, Booth argues that the Old Testament "covenants of promise" were an unfolding of the one covenant of grace. Therefore, to Booth, the covenant of grace, by definition, includes the household and its children as did the covenants of promise. From this assumption and inference, Booth concludes that the New Covenant, as the fulfillment of those Old Testament covenants of promise, must also include the household and its children by definition. Therefore, just as the household children were circumcised in the covenants of promise, so the household children of the New Covenant receive the sign and seal of baptism.

This line of reasoning is Booth's primary argument. To prohibit household children from the sign of baptism would require for Booth a specific statement prohibiting them, even if the instituted commands and examples of baptism in the New Testament described "disciples only" baptism. For Booth, positive instituted New Testament revelation cannot override logical inference from the Old Testament.

Booth includes an appendix entitled "Samuel Miller's Argument from Church History," even though Pierre Marcel (The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism, see review in Founders Journal 35) denies that such an argument is worthy of use in the debate on baptism. Miller argues that from Tertullian forward, infant baptism was the accepted practice of the church until the Anabaptists arose, thus establishing the supposed apostolic tradition of infant baptism.

Typical of paedobaptist arguments, neither Booth nor Miller discuss the importance of the Didache (100-125 A. D.), the earliest tradition of the apostles outside of the New Testament, which actually is a church manual giving directions for how baptism should be practiced. Yet it only describes the baptism of disciples, a glaring omission if infant baptism were practiced. Miller's essay is a weak presentation of the historical argument.

Another appendix has Booth's chart of the similarities between circumcision and baptism. While Baptists recognize many of Booth's comparisons (ie., cleansing and regeneration), he misses the most important point of his own comparison: that circumcision was an Old Testament type of which regeneration, not baptism, is the antitype (Rom. 2:27; Phil. 3:3; Col. 2:11-12).

Baptism is the new sign given in the New Covenant to those who have repented and believed as evidence of that regeneration (heart circumcision) and membership in the effectual New Covenant (Heb. 8:8-12). It is retrospective of the antitypical reality of which circumcision was the type. Booth does not understand that the connection between circumcision and baptism is that of prospective and retrospective signs of the reality they both symbolize, the regeneration of the heart. This is why Holy Spirit regeneration is called the "seal" in the New Testament (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:20), not baptism, as Booth claims. It is perfectly plausible for the prospective sign to be required typically of the Old Testament people of God while reserved antitypically and retrospectively for the New Testament people of God in the fulfillment. And this is exactly what the biblical evidence presents against Booth's logical inference.....

All in all, Booth's attempt to justify infant baptism is valiant if exegetically and logically flawed. One has trouble believing that all paedobaptists would even agree with his definition of a covenant (John Owen does not), which is a fundamental issue. If one were looking for a good argument to become a paedobaptist, and if one felt comfort reading of a former Baptist's theological journey, then one might become convinced by Booth's presentation to leave the trials of reforming a difficult Baptist church, or denomination, and to seek the safe haven of paedobaptist service and ministry. But if one is looking for sound hermeneutics and exegesis, an understanding and refutation of the covenantal Baptist position, and a better argument for infant baptism, this book will sadly disappoint.

Robert (Randy) Booth, a former Baptist, has put together a fairly compelling case for the practice of infant baptism in a way that is very accessible to the general reader and those new to the debate. More than just a book about baptism, however, this is also a good introduction to Covenant Theology in general, which the author contends is at the heart of case for infant baptism. Contrary to the popular sentiment among many Christians today, that the debate over baptism is some pedantic argument over theological trivialities, Booth points out that one's position on baptism is controlled by fundamental assumptions about how the Bible ought to be interpreted; especially with reference to the relationship between the Old and New Covenants. To his credit Booth remains respectful and gracious throughout to those who disagree with him.

Choosing to build his case on biblical and theological grounds, Booth includes an Appendix which contains the argument from church history for infant baptism, by Samuel Miller. A second Appendix contains a table listing the similarities between circumcision and baptism, along with scriptural references.

Unfortunately this text uses end notes rather than footnotes, forcing the reader to flip back and forth to the end of the chapter to reference a citation. A selected bibliography of works would also have been a helpful addition for those wanting to do further research.

While no one should conclude that this is the definitive work on the subject (some of the other reviews notwithstanding) it is nonetheless a helpful and readable introduction to Covenant Theology, and the general case that can be made for infant baptism.

I'll make this simple and brief -
Booth's book is simply one of the best advocating infant baptism ("covenantal baptism") available. It's tremendously easy to read, and the writer balances his love of truth with his commitment to the building up of Christ's body. He is therefore, passionate about truth, but never at the expense of his love of is Christian brethren.
He not only deals with the NT considerations, but begins at the beginning - the OT. He shows that any proper evaluation of Christian baptism must begin with a proper understanding of Covenant Theology, the Old Covenant sign of circumcision, and the concept of Covenant Household (Family Solidarity).
Since the NT is based upon and proceeds from the Old, these concepts must be taken for granted when the NT is read. For those who were so steeped in the OT mentality and who applied the sign of the Covenant to their children (Gen. 17), why would they not apply the sign of the New Covenant to their children?
Booth also adds an appendix, "Samuel Miller's Argument from Church History," for those who need some historical verification.

This book is perfect for the beginnner, yet also substantial enough for those well informed on the subject. This book deserves a wide readership!

The history of opium is a very interesting subject, as Martin Booth initially proves here. Dating from the earliest days of human civilization, opium use has gone through many stages of glamorization and condemnation, while entire nations and peoples have been held in its sway. Unfortunately, after a fascinating start this book wrings out most of the interesting aspects of this subject. Booth's writing shows the British tendency toward dryness and tedium, with an often anal-retentive obsession for small details at the expense of big picture conclusions, especially regarding the personal human effects of the use of opium and its modern derivatives like heroin. Booth makes many dubious generalizations about popular culture, crime communities, and ethnic groups - an example is the claim that American blacks from the south who emigrated to the north took up heroin en masse because they disliked the winters. Booth's very few glimmers of personality occur only when he indignantly criticizes some of his sources, calling one an ignorant bigot and another a pious zealot while quoting them. Most of the final third of the book really drags with tedious drug war reporting on the modern heroin trade. Other reviewers have noticed Booth's complete lack of footnotes and citations, and this is a real issue as his credibility is often stretched by opinionating and speculation. Overall, a potentially fascinating subject is made boring.

Booth deals with the suject matter of this book in a logical and tactical manner. The focus of the book is not mainly the mystery of the subject at hand but also its influence upon British and American society as well as artists and writers who used or were addicted to it in their time. It also covers a history of heroin (a morphine derivitive) and its place in the society of arts. Anyone reasearching this subject need ONLY BUY HIS BOOK, for it provides a multitude of other sources to browse. I must say that I am very impressed with the information given, the quality of the writing and the overall book itself. This is what I had been looking for.

Patrick Norman Feild

Sleep and his brother Death figure prominently in Martin Booth's "Opium - A History." His subject is a two-headed god---bringing surcease from pain, but also addicting and killing its too-faithful followers.

Booth writes a truly fascinating and detailed history of opium's influence on the world's history, economies, and cultures. According to the author, opium has been used by man since prehistoric times. It was already under cultivation in Mesopotamia by 3400 B.C. He describes the wars that have been fought to control the opium trade, and nowadays the multi-billion dollar heroin industry. Nor does he neglect the social implications of an addicted population:

"For many addicts, heroin is favoured because, whilst allowing them to maintain full consciousness, they can withdraw into a secure, cocoon-like state of physical and emotional painlessness. Heroin is seen as an escape to tranquility, a liberation from anxiety and stress: for the poor, it is a way out of the drudgery of life, just as laudanum was for their forebears two centuries ago."

If much of your recent reading has been driven by current events, this book will open your eyes to the cultivation and processing of 'papaver somniferum' throughout the 'Golden Crescent' - a geographical area from Turkey to Tibet that includes the mountains of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Here is what the author has to say about growing poppies in the Mahaban Mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border:

"It is perfect poppy country with suitable soil, steep and well-drained hillsides, long hours of sunshine and the right amount of rainfall. There being no other forms of income apart from agriculture, it follows that the opium poppy provides an ideal cash crop."

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (10/03/2001) the drug trade is the primary income source for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban. U.S. State Department intelligence information on drug trafficking in the region indicates that the Taliban has collected at least $40 - $50 million this year through a tax it imposes on the opium poppy crop.

There are hazards to cultivating the poppy. "...Farmers can tell when the time to harvest is nigh because they wake in the morning with severe headaches and even nausea. Harvesters may absorb opium through their skin and excise officers and traders who come into frequent contact with it can also be affected."

Booth gives his readers a very well-researched and fascinating look at the seductive flower whose pharmacological properties came to mean all things to all men: poets; farmers; soldiers; doctors; murderers; terrorists; kings; and cancer patients.