Name: Food of the Gods
ISBN: 9780553371307

Food of the Gods

“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.

What Hacker News says

devindotcomNov 2024

Definitely do Time Machine first, then his other "classics for a reason" the War of the Worlds, the Invisible Man, the Island of Dr Moreau, and IMO the Food of the Gods. His work tends to have a sort of bipartite structure where the second half diverges quite a bit from the first or there is a major thematic shift partway, usually as a consequence of "committing to the bit." Sometimes it seems like he has lost the plot, other times that he has found it. But the books are extremely readable.

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neomSep 2023

Couple of additional great reads around the subject:

The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley

Food of the Gods - Terrence McKenna.

And honestly reading Erowid trip report is super interesting/fun (especially DMT! Heh).

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neomJun 2023

The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley

Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna

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4gotunameagainJun 2023

Terence McKenna, a self proclaimed ethnobotanist, held the theory that higher intelligence emerged because of psychedelics, that our hunter gatherer ancestors had a very intimate relationship with psychedelic mushrooms.

Way out there, but very interesting nonetheless. I would recommend his book The food of the Gods

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mbestoAug 2021

If you're curious about the ties between religion, shamanism and psychedelics theres a great book by Terrence McKenna on this subject called Food of the Gods: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553371304?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_...

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ExactActuationMay 2020

Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/111941/food-of-the-...)

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/529343/how-to-chang...)

Fellowship of the River by Joe Tafur, MD (https://www.drjoetafur.com/the-fellowship-of-the-river)

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