How to Change Your Mind
The New Science of Psychedelics
Published on 17. May 2018
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-0-241-29422-2 (ISBN)
Description
The No.1 New York Times Bestseller
'Reminds us that the mind is the greatest mystery in the universe' Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian, Books of the Year
Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? One of America's most admired writers takes us on a mind-altering journey to the frontiers of human consciousness
When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forwardas a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinatedby the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness.
'His approach is steeped in honesty and self-awareness. His cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling' - Washington Post
'An easy-going humane generosity ... mischievous self-regard ... as if Henry David Thoreau had had an encounter with Woody Allen and never been quite the same since' - Simon Schama
'Reminds us that the mind is the greatest mystery in the universe' Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian, Books of the Year
Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? One of America's most admired writers takes us on a mind-altering journey to the frontiers of human consciousness
When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forwardas a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinatedby the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness.
'His approach is steeped in honesty and self-awareness. His cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling' - Washington Post
'An easy-going humane generosity ... mischievous self-regard ... as if Henry David Thoreau had had an encounter with Woody Allen and never been quite the same since' - Simon Schama
Reviews / Votes
The Big Bang moment for a movement that is gathering force across the planet * Irish Times * This deeply absorbing, wise and beautifully written book makes an important contribution to the debate. -- Mick Brown * Literary Review * Gripping and surprising ... Pollan makes losing your mind sound like the sanest thing a person could do * The New York Times Book Review * A mind-altering book ... full of transformations * Evening Standard * His approach is steeped in honesty and self-awareness. His cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling * Washington Post * There seems little doubt these drugs have far more to offer psychiatry than has been acknowledged * Sunday Times * A sweeping and often thrilling chronicle... a serious work of history and science * Observer * The book was having an after-effect. I was changing my mind... the claims are plausible. There really could be something to it. * Times * This may, in fact, be how most living creatures see the world -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times * A compulsive book -- Tim Adams * Observer * An easy-going humane generosity ... mischievous self-regard ... as if Henry David Thoreau had had an encounter with Woody Allen and never been quite the same since -- Simon Schama Psychedelic therapy is becoming respectable again... -- Paul Laity * Financial Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
766 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-29422-2 (9780241294222)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2018
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Michael Pollan is an award-winning author, activist and journalist. His no.1 international bestselling books about the way we live today - including The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defence of Food and Cooked (also a successful Netflix series) -- combine meticulous reporting with anthropology, philosophy, culture, health and natural history. Time magazine has named him one of the hundred most influential people in the world. He lives in the Bay Area of California with his wife and son.