Reviews"Deserves to be the modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens." -- The Washington Post "Terence McKenna is the most important--and most entertaining--visionary scholar in America." --Tom Robbins "The culture's foremost spokesperson for the psychedelic experience . . . Those who know and enjoy Joseph Campbell's work will almost certainly appreciate McKenna." -- L.A. Weekly "An eloquent proposal for recovering something vital--a sense of the sacred, the transcendent, the Absolute--before it's too late." --Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Meaning & Medicine , Recovering the Soul , and Space, Time & Machine
Dewey Edition20
Dewey Decimal362.29
Synopsis"Deserves to be the modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens."-- The Washington Post Ethnobotanist Terence Mckenna, hailed by Tom Robbins as "the most important--and most entertaining--visionary scholar in America," explores humanity's symbiotic relationship with spirits, tobacco, marijuana, opium, psilocybin, and more, from prehistoric times to today. Why, as a species, are humans so fascinated by altered states of consciousness? Can altered states reveal something to us about our origins and our place in nature? In Food of the Gods , Terence McKenna's research on man's ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. McKenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the East and the West, from ancient spice, sugar, and rum trades to marijuana, cocaine, synthetics, and even television--illustrating the human desire for the "food of the gods" and the powerful potential to replace abuse of illegal drugs with a shamanic understanding, insistence on community, reverence for nature, and increased self-awareness., An exploration of humans' symbiotic relationships with plants and chemicals presents information on prehistoric partnership societies, the roles of spices and spirits in the rise of dominator societies; and the politics of tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcohol. Why, as a species, are humans so fascinated by altered states of consciousness? Can altered states reveal something to us about our origins and our place in nature? In Food of the Gods , ethnobotanist Terence McKenna's research on man's ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. McKenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the East and the West, from ancient spice, sugar, and rum trades to marijuana, cocaine, synthetics, and even television--illustrating the human desire for the "food of the gods" and the powerful potential to replace abuse of illegal drugs with a shamanic understanding, insistence on community, reverence for nature, and increased self-awareness. Praise for Food of the Gods "Deserves to be the modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens." -- The Washington Post "Terence McKenna is the most important--and most entertaining--visionary scholar in America." --Tom Robbins "The culture's foremost spokesperson for the psychedelic experience . . . Those who know and enjoy Joseph Campbell's work will almost certainly appreciate McKenna." -- L.A. Weekly "An eloquent proposal for recovering something vital--a sense of the sacred, the transcendent, the Absolute--before it's too late." --Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Meaning & Medicine , Recovering the Soul , and Space, Time & Machine, "Deserves to be the modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens."- The Washington Post Ethnobotanist Terence Mckenna, hailed by Tom Robbins as "the most important-and most entertaining-visionary scholar in America," explores humanity's symbiotic relationship withspirits, tobacco, marijuana, opium,psilocybin,and more, from prehistoric times to today. Why, as a species, are humans so fascinated by altered states of consciousness? Can altered states reveal something to us about our origins and our place in nature? In Food of the Gods , Terence McKenna's research on man's ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. McKenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the East and the West, from ancient spice, sugar, and rum trades to marijuana, cocaine, synthetics, and even television-illustrating the human desire for the "food of the gods" and the powerful potential to replace abuse of illegal drugs with a shamanic understanding, insistence on community, reverence for nature, and increased self-awareness.