Joseph Gagliano's study, drawn from archival and printed sources as well as interviews in Peru, is the first book in any language to provide a historical overview of coca. In tracing the arguments of the participants in the coca debates during the last four centuries, it surveys the role of the leaf in Peru's socio-political history, focusing on coca usage as a source of controversy for the policymakers among the coastal elites who have dominated Peruvian politics and economics since the Spanish conquest. At the same time, coca's supporters have drawn upon myth, scientific ignorance, and economic exigency to make a strong case for "the divine plant of the Incas". It is no surprise that controversy still reigns over coca use in Peru. Its use is deeply embedded in Andean culture, and there is no quick or easy way to end its cultivation and use among people who have relied on it for centuries. By providing the historical background for contemporary issues surrounding Peru's role in narcotics trafficking, Gagliano's work will fascinate scholars, professionals, and general readers alike.