Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Really interesting book about shamanism. This would be a great follow up to anyone who has been listening to Terrance McKenna lectures about psychedelics. This book takes an academic but less skeptical approach to shamanism. Narby explores shamanism through a less objective anthropological lens and intertwines his own experiences with ayahuasca. His research comes from the place of “what if the shamans are to be taken directly at their word in what they believe these experiences mean?” I think that approach is super important because it does not automatically assume the Western scientific view is correct, but attempts to see if there is overlap in the two belief systems. I don’t think that Narba does an excellent job at supporting his hypothesis with research in the biological sciences however, I suspect because his field is anthropology and not biology or medicine. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read.
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
inspiring
medium-paced
I just read this book for the second time, ten years after the first time. It wasn't as impactful as it was when I first read it, but I still really enjoyed revisiting all of the points that seemed mind-blowing at the time. I highly recommend that anyone interested in the intersections of science and spirituality to read it.
Of course I loved this book because I think our modern understanding of science is incomplete and nobody cares about all the fascinating and incredible things our brains can do given the right chemistry experiment. I wish we weren't told that everything fun was the end of the world.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The first 4 chapters are a little slow but they provide the necessary context to understand the main theme of the book. From chapter 5 onwards it becomes really interesting. I know nothing about molecular biology and the author admits his hypothesis can't be proved by mainstream biology. I simply took the ideas in this book as an interesting thought exercise and I would definitely like to read more on the subject.
Though this book had unenjoyable beginnings, I soon found myself enraptured by the ideas put forth in it. In the end, it was a good read that has prompted my own questions and further reading to look into.