---
product_id: 1356508
title: "Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction Hardcover – June 26, 2012"
brand: "steven martin"
price: "¥9514"
currency: JPY
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/1356508-opium-fiend-a-21st-century-slave-to-a-19th-century
store_origin: JP
region: Japan
---

# Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction Hardcover – June 26, 2012

**Brand:** steven martin
**Price:** ¥9514
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction Hardcover – June 26, 2012 by steven martin
- **How much does it cost?** ¥9514 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/1356508-opium-fiend-a-21st-century-slave-to-a-19th-century)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Good But Over Priced - Not Quite A Masterpiece
  

*by B***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2014*

Amazing story about how opium was eradicated by various governments, including all the paraphernalia, and how one man scoured the world (via the Internet mostly, buying opium items that 19th Century American missionaries had brought back to the Mid West, stashed in lofts and forgotten about) to gather an incredible collection of lost items used in chasing the dragon... He also discovers the difference between regular opium and opium that has been cured according to the ancient traditions and manages to form a habit to this hard to procure but highly addictive drug. I would like to have seen more detail in certain places - how exactly a 'pill' is created, rolled and smoked, for example. What is a pill? There is a lot of detail about pipes and bowls but some fundamental terms are mentioned but not explained. Also his 'cure'in the Thai rehab-monastery seems too easy. Where are the scenes of raw-knuckle agony? Even tho he is still sort of hooked at the end, what happens to him isn't nearly as harrowing as the horrific opening scene (a flash-forward) implies. The scenes of the author and his male friend dressing in Kimonos and slippers borders on the effete. Author never really gets to grip with the roots of his addiction or why it's so much fun to smoke opium - frankly, it seems dull. Too much time is spent on other characters who go nowhere (Though the fate of the female ex-journalist character, his opium supplier, is devastating). Landing somewhere between a New Yorker article and a full-blown non-fiction tome, this expensive book is good but a bit over-priced and falls short of greatness owing to problems of pacing and because it lacks true insight into addiction. In the end, while the history of opium, its popularity, controversy, is well covered, the addiction part of the story is glib and the riveting opening gives the promise of an epic descent into darkness that never quite comes.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Fascinating memoir by a very skilled writer
  

*by H***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 16, 2012*

As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, Opium Fiend is much more than a memoir. It is a multilayered book that stays with you long after the last page. Steve Martin is a skilled writer and his descent into opium addiction is a most unusual modern day tale. As the subtitle says it is a book about a man that was (is?) "a twenty-first century slave to a 19th century addiction." Highlighting this unique circumstance is when Martin decides to seek treatment for his addiction. He chooses a Buddhist Rehab monastery in Thailand that once specialized in treating opium addicts. Yet, the opium eradication programs in Asia have been so successful that the use of this drug all but disappeared decades ago. So when the author arrives, the monks at the monastery are surprised that opium is the drug addiction he needs help with. It is a situation that would be similar to an individual showing up at a hospital in the United States suffering from polio. It would leave the doctors stunned wondering how this profoundly dreaded disease from the past appeared once again. So how does the author become addicted to this forgotten drug of yesteryear? It is a tale well worth reading. Martin has a happy childhood in San Diego but his true adventures-and the road to his opium addiction- begin in the Philippines and continue in Southeast Asia. In these passages, the author's background as a writer of travel guides is evident. It is humorous to read his observation about college age backpackers focusing their journeys on Southeast Asia as opposed to the Philippines because sitting next to a Buddhist monk on a bus in Thailand is so much more "exotic" than a Catholic nun in the Philippines. He also relates with as deep an understanding as a "farang" (westerner) can about the people and cultures of Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Martin also treats us to an intriguing interpretation of the history of opium in China and the "Opium Wars" with the British in the 1800s. All of this is included in one fascinating memoir about a man battling a terrible addiction.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Very Modern Story of Opium Addiction
  

*by K***M on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 17, 2014*

I had always thought of opium addiction as something from another time and era.  This book makes it very real and in your face.  The author writes from personal experience of his addiction in the mid 2000s!  He opens with his first serious attempt at overcoming his addiction.  He describes the high of opium versus other drugs and why he cherished those highs so very much.  He then proceeds into the history of opium in China and the USA.  He also describes how he began collecting the various paraphernalia of opium smoking and opium dens.  He develops a very extensive personal collection and includes vintage photos.  He writes very well and does his homework.  He gives the reader a very thorough and, I must confess, at times a very boringly thorough, account of his searches and encounters with sellers and other prospective buyers.  In the end he takes us through his recovery, relapse, and eventual uneasy and uncertain abstinence from the drug. The beginning and ending of the book were rather gripping.  The middle was interesting but I got bogged down in the minutia of his paraphernalia searches.

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*Product available on Desertcart Japan*
*Store origin: JP*
*Last updated: 2026-03-02*