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Although Wasson wasn't in Amsterdam (for the Psychedics Conference in 1998), Jonathan Ott
was. But it is Wasson's contribution that makes this offering so interesting. As an amateur
mushroom freak, his researches laid the basis for a reassessment of the position of chemic-
ally induced experiences in the lexicon of religious and spiritual activities. Jonathan Ott, also,
is a mushroom expert of note who has written a number of books that collect dust on the Coffee-
house Culture library shelves. This opus deals with psychoactive mushroom use in ancient
Greece, Eurasia (wherever that is) and Mesoamerica. Nothing new there then.
Oh, dear! Another one we haven't read. It just goes to show that when we talk about Coffee-
house Culture containing crap, we are only really being honest. There is not much we can
say about this one; there is no synopsis on the Amazon site and no reviews. The subtitle,
''Cultivating a Spiritual Connection with the Natural World,' says more about it than anything.
And any book that reminds us of the fact that we are a part of the same Grand Scheme as
every living thing has got to be worthwhile. And . . . . er . . . it does looks interesting. Ralph
Metzner does, of course, have considerable credibility as a cohort of Timothy Leary and,
indeed, co-author with Leary and Richard Alpert of 'The Psychedelic Experience', the first
mass media outing of the psychedelic revolution that was to follow.
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This is a beautiful book to own. Well, written, well designed, full of illustrations and information
packed, it is a joy to look at and good to have on hand as you trek through the Amazon Basin.
We have this in hardback but we assume the paperback version is similar. Part botanical and
part ethnological, the book is comprehensive in its coverage of hallucinogens and in their many
applications, and features erudite (but very readable) essays on the main groups. Almost
a 'coffeetable book' in its design (but not in its format), this is a singular and unusually
easy to browse book on a serious scientific and sociological field of study. Dr. Richard Evans
Schultes and Dr Albert Hoffmann are among the most authortative figures in the field of
psychedelics , both having spent almost their whole lives in exploring the subject. Highly
recommended.
Here's a book we can recommend wholeheartedly -- at least in its previous edition,which has
for many years graced our library shelves. Our copy is falling apart which says a lot about
how often this it has been read and re-read. Packed full of information both for the lay reader
and someone sitting up, it is a well thought out, well written and erudite offering. There are few
books that provide such a comprehensive overview of psychedelics in such readable terms.
Thoroughly recommended.
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Another dust-gatherer on the shelves of our library. This is another very erudite and fairly academic book but it is packed full of interesting stuff about the influence of psychedelics on primitive civilisations. I have not seen the use of hallucinogens traced so far back into the dim past. Although the central position occupied by the hallucinogenic experience in the development of civilised man seems fairly unequivocal, no one had yet come as close to identifying it as the catalyst to move man away from the animals. Despite the vast amounts of knowledge contained in this book, the best bit is the author's description of his own acid initiation. For me this was the most evocative and cunningly expressed description of a trip I have ever read. If you have never used acid and want to know what it is like, read this and you'll know. Recommended.
This is another one we haven't read but the editor thinks he was interviewed by Patrick Matthews
when he was researching the book or maybe it was another one or maybe he is just having one of
his pipe dreams. All he can remember is being asked about short-term memory loss and
replying that with all that increased consciousness there is a lot more going on in a dope
smokers brain and it is, therefore, hardly surprising that we sometimes lose our thread. What-
ever. It is nice to see someone recognising that this is a culture.
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