People often express astonishment to learn I “turned out to be a scientist” and that I “didn’t go into something artistic”. But I don’t see it this way at all, and have always viewed chemistry and drug design in particular as a very much artistic pursuit.

“Underworld of The East” describes Lee’s captivating 18 year-long adventure traveling as a mining foreman around the British colonies of Southeast Asia from 1894-1912. One of the remarkable things of this work is Lee’s views on psychoactive drugs, their use, and many other matters. Some of his findings detailed in this book are unlike anything else in the world of pharmacology.