|
|
Tripped: Nazi Germany, The Cia, And The Dawn Of The Psychedelic AgeStock informationGeneral Fields
Special Fields
Local DescriptionReview: Utterly fascinating and illuminating. In tracing the curious origins of LSD as a drug and as a cultural phenomenon - a compulsive maze-like trail that takes in obscure Swiss institutes, the rise of Nazi Germany, the philosophy of brainwashing, CIA conspiracies, the White House and Elvis Presley - Norman Ohler also cleverly throws fresh light on the Cold War that dominated the late twentieth century: a global struggle for psychological supremacy and psychic liberation. On top of all this, his storytelling is not only beguiling but - by the end - profoundly moving as well. It is possible that LSD will have a part to play in all our medical futures: this gripping and deeply felt book will tell you why -- Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin
Author Biography: Norman Ohler is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of The Infiltrators and the New York Times bestseller Blitzed, as well as the novels Die Quotenmaschine (the world's first hypertext novel), Mitte and Stadt des Goldes (translated into English as Ponte City) and the historical crime novel Die Gleichung des Lebens. He lives in Berlin. DescriptionA brilliant and original investigation into the medical origins of LSD and how the Nazis and the CIA turned it into a weapon, by the author of Blitzed. First used as a drug capable of treating mental illnesses, then as a 'truth serum' by the CIA, Tripped reveals how the fortuitous discovery of LSD in April 1943 led to a mass exploitation of this promising hallucinogen. Using archival material, Norman Ohler brings to light the often misguided interaction between scientific research, state authorities and hedonistic drug culture that shaped drug policy in the twentieth century. With a cast of characters ranging from Albert Hofmann to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics; Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley; and Aldous Huxley and John Lennon, this is Ohler at his thrilling, revelatory best. |