Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Intoxicated Armies and Chemical Courage on the Battlefield: Alcohol, Drugs, Stimulants, Narcotics and Psychoactive Substances throughout Military Hist

Intoxicated Armies and Chemical Courage on the Battlefield: Alcohol, Drugs, Stimulants, Narcotics and Psychoactive Substances throughout Military Hist

Paperback

Medical ReferenceGeneral Military History

ISBN13: 9798171855192
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Sep 4 2026
Pages: 150
Weight: 0.46
Height: 0.32 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
INTOXICATED ARMIES AND CHEMICAL COURAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Alcohol, Drugs, Stimulants, Narcotics and Psychoactive Substances throughout Military History and Warfare

What happens when war pushes the human body beyond its natural limits?

Intoxicated Armies and Chemical Courage on the Battlefield explores the remarkable history of alcohol, narcotics, stimulants, sedatives, psychoactive plants, and military medicine across centuries of warfare.

From ancient wine and opium to morphine, cocaine, Pervitin, Benzedrine, heroin, modafinil, and modern fatigue management, this book examines how soldiers and military institutions have tried to control fear, pain, exhaustion, sleep, morale, and trauma.

Inside, discover:

  • Alcohol and intoxication in ancient and premodern armies
  • Opium, morphine, and the transformation of battlefield medicine
  • Coca, cocaine, and the rise of modern stimulants
  • Pervitin, Benzedrine, and amphetamines in World War II
  • Drug use among American troops during the Vietnam War
  • Painkillers, sedatives, trauma, and military psychiatry
  • Modern go pills, modafinil, caffeine, and fatigue management
  • The myths surrounding berserkers and chemically enhanced soldiers
Rather than repeating sensational stories, the book separates documented history from legend, showing where drugs genuinely influenced military life and where their importance has been exaggerated.

A compelling journey through warfare, medicine, psychology, addiction, discipline, and human endurance, revealing the recurring attempt to make soldiers function when the body and mind are already reaching their limits.

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