PAGE TWO; FEATURE

When we first reported on our affiliation with Amazon -- in the preview of this issue that appeared on line in the summer of 2001 -- we described it as ‘a striking break-through for the cannabis culture’ At that time it seemed that Coffeehouse Culture had become the first smoking site to become an affliate of leading online bookseller Amazon. And, amazingly (or should we say: ‘amazonly?’) it would seem we still are. At least we could find no other smoking web sites that were simalarly affliated. We could not, however, check them all so we could be wrong.
...It is, of course, the case that the Coffeehouse Culture site is rather different to other smoking sites. For a start the smoking aspect of the site is only one ingredient in a much bigger mix that is both cultural and evolutionary. As so little seems to have changed, what bettter than to simply reprint the orginal story from the preview.

...Waxing on about our ‘break- through,’ we said: ‘Recognition by this international organisation maybe a small and insignificant step for them, but it is a giant leap for mankind (sorry, we mean the cannabis culture and us.) After all, we do seem to be the first and only ganja graced site to be paddling up the ultra-straight Amazon. Machetes in hand, we have hackedthrough the undergrowth to bring our readers a level of service that is not usuallly associated with Coffeehouse Culture. To ensure that readers on both sides of the Great Water get the fastest service we have signed up not only with Amazon.com (the US mothership) but also with Amazon.co.uk. So, readers on both sides of the Atlantic can take home a small part of the cannabis culture. Unfortunately, though, it isn’t the dope.

...The Amazon connection is represented on the Coffeehouse Culture site with links to nearly seventy seminal works that have helped define this culture and given it the energy to grow. Representing the unusual and wide-ranging interests of our readers, all of them have beenpersonally and lovingly selected by our editor, whose library is possibly the only thing bigger than his genitalia (so he tells us.)
...Among the literary gems waiting for your intellectual delectation are the spiritual teachings of

Deepak Chopra in Quantum Healing, the musings of loud- mouthed visionary Timothy Leary in The Politics of Ecstasy, advice for the green-fingered from Growing Gurus, Ed Rosenthal, Mel Franks and Jose Cervantes Clarke and beat classics from the anarchic pens of such cultural icons as Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsburg.
...And that’s not all folks. Many of the leading luminaries of hip literature are represented. From the simple spiritual lessons of Herman Hesse’s beautiful Siddharta to the ironic fiction of Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, from the mescaline-fuelled visions of Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception and Island to the pure holy teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, from the practical and revelationary insights of James Redfield’s Celestine Prophecy to . . . well, just about anything we like, actually . . . .the editor’s recommendations (yes, he’s read nearly all the recommendedbooks) should sate the appetite of every seeker after truth.
...So stop us and buy one. In fact, buy a couple (please.) Remember, it’s for a good cause. I mean, consciousness is as good a cause as any and a better one than most, don’t you think?’
...With the advent of the Publications Department in the Cultcha Shop we have been able to expand the range and number of books offered to nearly 200. With the Recommended Reading lists that will go up with this issue that number is expected to increase dramatically.

VISIT CULTCHA SHOP BOOKS