Richly detailed and frequently illuminating.

Jay... believes that drug experimentation facilitated the birth of “the modern mind”. But there’s no rigorous analysis of what this might mean.

Jay...demonstrate[s] that humanity’s relationship to mind-altering substances runs deep and long.

Psychonauts largely ignores the mass stupefaction of the present.

The latest in a series of excellent studies.

The history is captivating, and the author does a great job balancing research with vivid anecdotes and fascinating excerpts from cultural figures’ writings. It’s a welcome reconsideration of the role drugs play in life, medicine, and science..