What do the invention of anesthetics in the mid-19th century, the Nazi use of cocaine, and the development of Prozac have in common? All of them are the product of the same logic that defines a new stage in modernity - "The Age of Anesthesia." Laurent de Sutter tells how our lives are now characterized by emotion management using drugs ranging from everyday use of sleeping pills to powerful drugs. The chemistry has entered us so much that we can't even understand how much it has changed us.