Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom - Softcover

Letcher, Andy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571227708 ISBN 13: 9780571227709

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2006

Synopsis

Is Santa Claus really a magic mushroom in disguise?

Was Alice in Wonderland a thinly veiled psychedelic mushroom odyssey?

Did mushroom tea kick-start ancient Greek philosophy?

Much stranger than the fictions it has inspired, the world of the magic mushroom is a place where shamans and hippies rub shoulders with psychiatrists, poets and international bankers.

The 'magic mushroom' was only rediscovered fifty years ago, but has accumulated all sorts of folktales and urban legends along the way. In this timely and definitive study, Andy Letcher strips away the myths to get at the true story of how hallucinogenic mushrooms, once shunned in the West as the most pernicious of poisons, came to be the illicit drug of choice.

Chronicling the history of the magic mushroom from its use by the Aztecs of Central America and the tribes of Siberia through to the present day, Letcher takes a critical and humorous look at the drug's more recent manifestations. Since the 1970s we have identified hundreds of hallucinogenic species, isolated their active ingredients, learnt how to cultivate them on an industrial scale, and spread them around the world. More than any civilisation that has come before us, we can claim to be magic mushroom enthusiasts.

About this title

About the Author

Andy Letcher has doctorates in both Ecology and Cultural and Religious Studies. During the nineties he lived in a treehouse at the Newbury bypass campaign, and toured in a variety of psychedelic festival bands. He currently lives in Oxford where he works as a freelance writer, lecturer, and musician.

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571227708
• ISBN 13: 9780571227709
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384