For the first time in trade paperback, the critically acclaimed counterculture manifesto by the wildly popular McKenna. "Deserves to be a modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens".--The Washington Post. Photos and illustrations.

For the first time in trade paperback, the critically acclaimed counterculture manifesto by the wildly popular McKenna. "Deserves to be a modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens".--The Washington Post. Photos and illustrations.

** 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