Slaying the Dragon

Book excerpt: "The product of more than 20 years of research, Slaying the Dragon is the remarkable story of America's personal and institutional responses to alcoholism and other addictions. It is the story of mutual aid societies: the Washingtonians, the Blue Ribbon Reform Clubs, the Ollapod Club, the United Order of Ex-Boozers, the Jacoby Club, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Women for Sobriety. It is a story of addiction treatment institutions from the inebriate asylums and the Keely Institutes to Hazelden and Parkside. It is a story of evolving treatment interventions that range from water cures and mandatory sterilization to aversion therapies and methadone maintenance. Author William White provides a sweeping and engaging history of one of America's most enduring problems and the profession that was born to respond to it."--publisher website.