Webs of Smoke: Smugglers, Warlords, Spies, and the History of the International Drug Trade

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Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Oct 2, 2002 - Social Science - 304 pages
This fascinating history of international drug trafficking in the first half of the twentieth century follows the stories of American narcs and gangsters, Japanese spies, Chinese warlords, and soldiers of fortune whose lives revolved around opium. The drug trade centered on China, which was before 1949, the world's largest narcotic market. The authors tell the interlocking stories of the many extraordinary personalities_sinister and otherwise_involved in narcotics trafficking in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Drawing on a rich store of U.S., British, European, Japanese, and Chinese archives, this unique study will be invaluable for all readers interested in the drug trade and contemporary East Asian history.
 

Contents

INTRODUCTION Men in the Shadows
1
CHAPTER ONE Bureaucrats
15
CHAPTER TWO Merchants
37
CHAPTER THREE Monopolies
67
CHAPTER FOUR Nouveaux Riches
89
CHAPTER FIVE Europeans
117
CHAPTER SIX Warlords
141
CHAPTER SEVEN Soldiers of Fortune
175
CHAPTER EIGHT Spies
199
CHAPTER NINE Americans
235
CHAPTER TEN Communists
267
CONCLUSION The Myth of Conspiracy
277
BIBLIOGRAPHY
291
INDEX
301
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
315
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About the author (2002)

Kathryn Meyer is professor of history at Wright State University. Terry Parssinen is professor of history at the University of Tampa in Florida. He has appeared twice on NPR's Fresh Air.

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