Smith, WDA, Under the Influence: A History of Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen Anaesthesia, 1982.

Smith’s Under the Influence reviews, enlarges and authenticates the history of nitrous oxide anaesthesia from the discovery of dephlogisticated nitrous air by Joseph Priestley to the period immediately after WWII. All of these articles, containing a great deal of unique material, have appeared in the British Journal of Anaesthesia and related journals.  For their first appearance in book form, a preface was added which provides an overview of the subject, describes exercises in practical history, adds previously unpublished material and may suggest areas for further research.