Addiction: Evolution of a Specialist Field

Description

Over recent years the study of addiction has moved from being a fragmented and under-developed area of science to become a forefront subject with its own identity. This book describes that fascinating process of evolution through a series of probing face-to-face interviews with the international scientists and other actors in the field who helped make the process happen.

Reported in this volume are:
* Unique in-depth interviews with 30 influential figures who have shaped modern addiction science.
* Ten commentaries from leading contemporary experts interpret this material by section.
* Recent history as base for future research planning and policy development

For instance, Sir Richard Doll, whose pioneering work helped establish the relationship between cigarette smoking and cancer of the lung, defines very personally his vision of science. Dr Jerome Jaffe, America's first "Drugs Czar," describes how Richard Nixon came to see the national importance of the research base for a more effective response to America's devastating heroin problem among GIs during the Vietnam War. Reported here altogether are 30 interviews of outstanding calibre - all the subjects were key witnesses and key participants in the birth of a modern scientific field. This timely book makes their voices heard with wonderful clarity.