The Poppy: A Cultural History from Ancient Egypt to Flanders Fields to Afghanistan (UK Edition)

In the aftermath of the horrific trench warfare of the FirstWorld War, the poppy – sprouting across the killing fields ofFrance and Belgium, then immortalised in John McCrae's moving poem– became a worldwide icon. Yet the poppy has a longer history, asthe tell-tale sign of human cultivation of the land, of the ravagesof war and of the desire to escape the earthly realm throughinspired Romantic opium dreams or the grim reality of morphinedrips. This is a story spanning three thousand years, from theancient Egyptian fights over prized medicinal potions to theaddicted veterans returning home from the American Civil War, fromthe British political machinations during the Opium Wars with Chinato the struggle to end Afghanistan's tribal narcotics trade.Through it all, there stands the transformative poppy.Nicholas J. Saunders brings us the definitive history of thisever-enduring but humble flower of the fields, a story that is atturns tragic, eye-opening and, most essentially, life-affirming – agift to us all.
Relative posts

Introducing Capitalism: A Graphic Guide (Introducing... Series)

The Story of the Oliver Twins: Let's Go Dizzy!

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

Delphi Complete Works of Aristotle (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

Introducing Philosophy: A Graphic Guide (Introducing... Series)

Changing Fortunes: The World's Money and the Threat to American Leadership

The Central Workers' Circle of St. Petersburg, 1889-1894: A Case Study of the "Workers' Intelligentsia" (RLE: The Russian Revolution, Volume 11)

The Central Workers' Circle of St. Petersburg, 1889-1894: A Case Study of the "Workers' Intelligentsia" (RLE: The Russian Revolution, Volume 11)

We Learnt about Hitler at the Mickey Mouse Club: A Childhood on the Eve of War
![Le Monde Diplomatique - Manière de Voir, Issue 172 [FR] (Août - Septembre 2020) Le Monde Diplomatique - Manière de Voir, Issue 172 [FR] (Août - Septembre 2020)](2020-10-29/a37bbf5d8181c8b643b39dc78c1cc628.jpg)
Le Monde Diplomatique - Manière de Voir, Issue 172 [FR] (Août - Septembre 2020)
