Under the Influence: The Literature of Addiction (Modern Library (Paperback))
Books / Paperback
Books › Psychology › History
ISBN: 0375757163 / Publisher: Modern Library, February 2003
An anthology of literary and historical writings on the subject of addiction includes a variety of fictional excerpts, memoirs, and essays by past and present authors such as Aldous Huxley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Leo Tolstoy.
Read More
Drawing on two centuries of important literary and historical writings, Rebecca Shannonhouse has shaped a remarkable collection of works that are, in turn, tragic, compelling, hilarious, and enlightening. Together, these selections comprise a profound and truthful portrait of the life experience known as addiction.Under the Influence offers classic selections from fiction, memoirs, and essays by authors such as Tolstoy, Cheever, Parker, and Poe. Also included are topical gems by writers who illuminate the causes, dangers, pleasures, and public perceptions surrounding people consumed by excessive use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Recent provocative works by Abraham Verghese, the Barthelme brothers, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, and others expand and modernize the definition of addiction to include sex, gambling, and food. Together, these incomparable writings give shape and meaning to the raw experience of uncontrollable urges.Shannonhouse’s recent anthology, Out of Her Mind: Women Writing on Madness, is also available as a Modern Library Paperback.
Read Less