Coca and Cocaine : $b Their history, medical and economic uses, and medicinal preparations

This compact volume takes listeners on a journey into the world of the coca plant, tracing its arrival in Europe from the early Spanish conquests of the Andes. Drawing on detailed reports from explorers such as Cieza de León and later travelers, it separates mythic anecdotes from documented observations of how indigenous peoples chewed the leaves to combat fatigue and thirst. The author places these early impressions in the broader context of the plant's enduring cultural presence, even as societies around the world began to question its status.

Beyond anthropology, the work surveys the emerging medical applications that turned coca into a subject of scientific curiosity in the late nineteenth century. It explains how cocaine was isolated, tested for purity, and introduced as a local anesthetic, offering vivid excerpts from contemporary medical journals. The author also evaluates the economic prospects of cultivating coca in colonial plantations, noting both the promise of a new cash crop and the cautions voiced by physicians about overuse.