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signorponza's review against another edition
4.0
La mia amica Chiara mi aveva consigliato questo libro tanto tempo fa. Me ne aveva parlato talmente tanto bene che l’avevo aggiunto subito alla mia wishlist, anche se poi lì ci è rimasto per quasi due anni. Forse mi spaventava un po’ la mole di pagine (più di 400), forse il fatto che sul tema “droghe” sono stato sempre poco preparato e poco incuriosito. Aver letto qualche settimana prima [b:Cose spiegate bene. Le droghe, in sostanza|61041930|Cose spiegate bene. Le droghe, in sostanza|Ludovica Lugli|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652302685l/61041930._SY75_.jpg|96195431] del Post (dove il libro di Pollan veniva più volte citato) mi ha spinto finalmente a compiere il grande passo. E meno male! Il libro è estremamente interessante e fruibile a prescindere dal livello di conoscenze pregresse. In particolare, questo saggio si concentra (soprattutto) sulle esperienze legate all’assunzione di LSD, creando un racconto che mette in fila la storia sulla scoperta e gli utilizzi delle sostanze psicoattive, l’esperienza personale dell'autore, gli incontri con uomini e donne che hanno dedicato la propria vita a questo tipo di “droghe”, nonché alcune spiegazioni scientifiche sul funzionamento e sugli effetti che esse hanno sulla mente umana. È una di quelle letture veramente in grado di modificare la propria prospettiva su un tema del quale forse spesso si dibatte in modo troppo superficiale.
alissamk's review against another edition
4.0
Super interesting and I love how the author approached the subject with such an open mind and wrote about his experiences so earnestly.
jfmiles's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.5
I entered my experience with "How to Change Your Mind" with, well, an open mind. As someone with an already healthy interest in psychedelics, I was immediately taken with the premise and found my interest piqued by little other than the title. I was surprised to have the book recommended to me, but nonetheless grateful. Having not read any of Michael Pollan's other work, I didn't have a concept about what I should expect, but was pleased to find within a healthy mixture of journalistic and dispassionate recounting of psychedelic history, memoir, and scientific fact relayed in an approachable, enjoyable manner. The uniqueness of this combination held my attention even through portions which I'd been advised I could probably have afforded to skip. Pollan's way with words is such that his description of his own experiences under the influence of the various psychedelics felt simultaneously beautifully crafted and sufficiently intimate that it was possible to empathize with the sensations and emotions.
While I can imagine criticism of How To Change Your Mind as a mishmash of these genres, and all of which with a not-unbiased conceit (that is, in favor of the - safe! - utilization of psychedelic drugs for both the ill and the "healthy normal" or well individual at their discretion), I found that even my already-sympathetic viewpoint found an appreciable amount of additional information presented in a highly persuasive manner. I am glad to have read it (or, at least, listened to it - incidentally, Pollan's performance reading the text is rather compelling). Had I been a psychedelic skeptic when starting the book, I'm not sure Pollan's book would have, well, changed my mind; however, I have emerged from the experience with a guide for exactly how I might someday do so.
dilemmag's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this one… It took a long time to get to a point where I actually cared about the story. I thought he spent too much time talking about a bunch of dudes who love psychedelics and not enough time discussing the merits of their use in therapeutic settings. Having finished the book I can appreciate the use of history as context to societal judgement of psychedelics, but I was just so much more interested in the second half of the book. The first three chapters were not it for me but afterwards I was much more interested. Ultimately I still think he’s a great writer and this book definitely gave me a lot to think about, it just wasn’t fully what I was hoping for.
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
5.0
I have been thinking about this book ever since I listened to it (read by the author). I have always loved Michael Pollan's meticulous research and the way he boils down difficult concepts into compulsively readable prose. This is no exception!
daumari's review
4.0
Pollan's tendency to be wordy works surprisingly well when he talks about getting high. In addition to personal experience, Pollan covers the history of psychedelic research (beyond Timothy Leary), and the current researchers, psychonauts, and guides pursuing how these compounds may be used to better our lives, either as therapy or reframing our insights.
Think I liked this better than other Pollan's forays into the world of what we put in our bodies, probably because I didn't feel my field was attacked here (genetics).
Think I liked this better than other Pollan's forays into the world of what we put in our bodies, probably because I didn't feel my field was attacked here (genetics).