Food of the gods : the search for the original tree of knowledge : a radical history of plants, drugs, and human evolution
McKenna's extraordinary quest to discover the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He wonders why we are so fascinated by altered states of consciousness, do they reveal something about our origins as human beings and our place in nature?
History
xxi, 311 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
9780553078688, 0553078682
24469333
Introduction: A manifesto for new thought about drugs
Shamanism: setting the stage
The magic in food
The search for the original tree of knowledge
Plants and primates: postcards from the stoned age
Habit as culture and religion
The high plains of Eden
Searching for Soma: the Golden Vedic enigma
Twilight in Eden: Minoan Crete and the Eleusinian mystery
Alcohol and the alchemy of spirit
The ballad of the dreaming weavers: cannabis and culture
Complacencies of the peignoir: sugar, coffee, tea, and chocolate
Smoke gets in your eyes: opium and tobacco
Synthetics: heroin, cocaine, and television
A brief history of psychedelics
Anticipating the archaic paradise
Epilogue: Looking outward and inward to a sea of stars