Smoke and Ashes


Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories is a 2023 non-fiction book by Amitav Ghosh. The book arose from research Ghosh conducted on the historical opium trade and its relation to India and China while he was writing his fiction novel series, the Ibis trilogy.[1][2] In it, Ghosh discusses the history of tea, the Opium Wars and links between colonialism and the modern opioid crisis.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ Falconer, Delia (2024-02-13). "The Opium Poppy Gets Star Billing in a New History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  2. ^ "Amitav Ghosh's new book, Smoke and Ashes, launched in Chennai". The Hindu. 2023-07-27. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  3. ^ Morch, Maximillian (2023-08-25). ""Smoke and Ashes" by Amitav Ghosh". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  4. ^ Bothfield, Becca (8 February 2024). "A riveting new history of opium, a lucrative and destructive flower". Washington Post.
  5. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (1 March 2024). "'Smoke and Ashes' Review: The Colonial Narco-State". The Wall Street Journal.