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Why this book now?

Drugs seem to be a rather timeless subject (check the opium recipes of the ancient Romans in our book) but lately there were a lot of celebrities struggling with substance use and abuse. The craze and hypocrisy surrounding these stories caused a) an unsurpressable curiosity regarding the effect of drugs on people, politics and culture and b) an urge to take a sober look on drugs: nonjudgmental, bipartisan and thorough.

Where does this book come from?

The idea was born in a bar in Berlin/Mitte - probably one of the most likely places to come up with such a concept given the reputation of Berlin as one of the world capitals of recreational excesses. Right after agreeing on form and subject of the book I moved to New York and my co-author Ingo Niermann climbed Mount Kilimandjaro. The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends was written between Kathmandu, Damascus, Fire Island and San Francisco. This required a lot of e-mailing and a few bouts of jetlag. But even our friendship endured.

Is this a confessional book?

Not really. Even our generous advance would not have been sufficient to try all the substances mentioned in our book.