This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. 
We follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery. 
Underlying it all is Dr. Hofmann's powerful conclusion that mystical experience may be our planet's best hope for survival. Whether induced by LSD, meditation, or arising spontaneously, such experiences help us to comprehend "the wonder, the mystery of the divine‹in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people." 
More than sixty years after the birth of Albert Hofmann's problem child, his vision of its true potential is more relevant, and more needed, than ever.

LSD, my problem child

Hofmann, Albert

McGraw=Hill

Sacred hallucinogens, PLANTS OF THE GODS, are beautifully illustrated and characterized in this lexicon. The authors elaborate in vivid detail 91 plants, focusing on 14 that have had profound significance on human beings. Included are rare photos of the plants and the people who have used them as well as ceremonies, sculpture, paintings, pottery, and weavings relating to the ritual use of these sacred hallucinogens.

Plants of the Gods: Origins of Halucinogenic Use

Politics & Social Sciences

Schultes, Richard Evans

Social Sciences

Hutchinson

The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece for nearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strange accounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In this groundbreaking work, three expertsâ€”a mycologist, a chemist, and a historianâ€”argue persuasively that the sacred potion given to participants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactive entheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures. Although controversial when first published in 1978, the bookâ€™s hypothesis has become more widely accepted in recent years, as knowledge of ethnobotany has deepened. The authors have played critical roles in the modern rediscovery of entheogens, and The Road to Eleusis presents an authoritative exposition of their views. The bookâ€™s themes of the universality of experiential religion, the suppression of that knowledge by exploitative forces, and the use of psychedelics to reconcile the human and natural worlds make it a fascinating and timely read. This 30th anniversary edition includes an appreciative preface by religious scholar Huston Smith and an updated exploration of the chemical evidence by Peter Webster.

The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries (Ethno-mycological Studies)

Wasson, R. Gordon

RUCK, CARL A.P.

Religion & Spirituality

Harcourt

Paperback, as pictured; date written on first (pretext) page; remainder mark (tb)

The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries

Ruck, Carl A.

Harvest Books, HBJ Book

LSD: My problem child

Albert Hofmann, who died in 2008 aged 102, first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1938, but the results of animal tests were so unremarkable that the chemical was abandoned. Driven by intuition, he synthesized it again in 1943, and serendipitously noticed its profound effects on himself. Although his work produced other important drugs, including methergine, hydergine and dihydroergotamine, it was LSD that shaped his career. After his discovery of LSD's properties, Hofmann spent years researching sacred plants. He succeeded in isolating and synthesizing the active compounds in the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom, which he named psilocybin and psilocin. During the 60s, Hofmann struck up friendships with personalities such as Aldous Huxley, Gordon Wasson, and Timothy Leary. He continued to work at Sandoz until 1971 when he retired as Director of Research for the Department of Natural Products. He subsequently served as a member of the Nobel Prize Committee, and was nominated by Time magazine as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. In 2007, Albert Hofmann asked Amanda Feilding if she could publish his Problem Child, and shortly before his death he approved a new and updated translation of his autobiography (first published by McGraw Hill in 1979). It appears here for the first time in print.

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Oxford University Press

Albert Hofmann, who died in 2008 aged 102, first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1938, but the results of animal tests were so unremarkable that the chemical was abandoned. Driven by intuition, he synthesized it again in 1943, and serendipitously noticed its profound effects on himself. Although his work produced other important drugs, including methergine, hydergine and dihydroergotamine, it was LSD that shaped his career. After his discovery of LSD's properties, Hofmann spent years researching sacred plants. He succeeded in isolating and synthesizing the active compounds in the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom, which he named psilocybin and psilocin. During the 60s, Hofmann struck up friendships with personalities such as Aldous Huxley, Gordon Wasson, and Timothy Leary. He continued to work at Sandoz until 1971 when he retired as Director of Research for the Department of Natural Products. He subsequently served as a member of the Nobel Prize Committee, and was nominated by Time magazine as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. In 2007, Albert Hofmann asked Amanda Feilding if she could publish his Problem Child, and shortly before his death he approved a new and updated translation of his autobiography (first published by McGraw Hill in 1979). It appears here for the first time in print.

The Physics of Synchrotron Radiation (Cambridge Monographs on Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Cosmology, Series Number 20)

Synchrotron radiation is an important research tool for many areas of particle physics. This book explains the underlying physics which determines radiation properties, presenting these properties in easily applicable equations and figures. It describes the general radiation and its interaction with electrons and is a valuable reference for scientists in the field.

Science & Math

Physics

Cambridge University Press

Astronomy & Space Science

World-renowned anthropologist and ethnopharmacologist Christian Ratsch provides the latest scientific updates to this classic work on psychoactive flora by two eminent researchers. • Numerous new and rare color photographs complement the completely revised and updated text. • Explores the uses of hallucinogenic plants in shamanic rituals throughout the world. • Cross-referenced by plant, illness, preparation, season of collection, and chemical constituents. Three scientific titans join forces to completely revise the classic text on the ritual uses of psychoactive plants. They provide a fascinating testimony of these "plants of the gods," tracing their uses throughout the world and their significance in shaping culture and history. In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful of those plants, which are known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness, have always been regarded as sacred. The authors detail the uses of hallucinogens in sacred shamanic rites while providing lucid explanations of the biochemistry of these plants and the cultural prayers, songs, and dances associated with them. The text is lavishly illustrated with 400 rare photographs of plants, people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world's sacred psychoactive flora.

Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Rätsch, Christian

Alternative Medicine

Healing Arts Press

Dr. Albert Hofmann, one of this century's greatest minds, offers a lifetime of insights, observations, and discussions. He leads us on an exploration of reality perception, where our newly discovered insights are drawn into intellectual meditation. Reality is approached as a combination of subjective and objective truths, which must be unified for ultimate awareness. This amazing book will expand your mind and lift you to a level where the material and spiritual aspects of your life exist in harmony.

Insight Outlook

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Humanics Publishing Group

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