ABOUT THE BOOK
When Amitav Ghosh began the research for his monumental cycle of novels, The Ibis Trilogy, 10 years ago, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote about were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on the currents: opium.
Most surprising was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up in the story.
Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, memoir and an essay in history, drawing on decades of archival research. In it, Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China, as well as the world at large. The trade was engineered by the British Empire, which exported Indian opium to sell to China and redress their great trade imbalance, and its revenues were essential to the empire's financial survival.
Tracing the profits further, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, of America's most powerful families and prestigious institutions (from the Astors and Coolidges to the Ivy League) and of contemporary globalism itself.
Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, Ghosh reveals the role one small plant had in the making of our world, today teetering on the edge of catastrophe.
EVENT DETAILS:
- Date: September 12 (5.30pm for 6pm)
- Venue: Love Books, Bamboo Lifestyle Centre, 53 Rustenburg Road, Melville
- RSVP: kate@lovebooks.co.za
LAUNCH | ‘Smoke and Ashes’ by Amitav Ghosh (September 12)
Join award-winning author Amitav Ghosh for the launch of ‘Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories’ at Love Books
ABOUT THE BOOK
When Amitav Ghosh began the research for his monumental cycle of novels, The Ibis Trilogy, 10 years ago, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote about were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on the currents: opium.
Most surprising was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up in the story.
Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, memoir and an essay in history, drawing on decades of archival research. In it, Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India and China, as well as the world at large. The trade was engineered by the British Empire, which exported Indian opium to sell to China and redress their great trade imbalance, and its revenues were essential to the empire's financial survival.
Tracing the profits further, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, of America's most powerful families and prestigious institutions (from the Astors and Coolidges to the Ivy League) and of contemporary globalism itself.
Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, Ghosh reveals the role one small plant had in the making of our world, today teetering on the edge of catastrophe.
EVENT DETAILS:
Article provided by Jonathan Ball Publishers
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