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A review by thepaperwitch
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
What a fascinating trip psychedelics have had. I came into the topic with some vague knowledge of it's past, but Pollan's book gives a lot of information on the origins of LSD and psilocybin, and to a much lesser degree, DMT.
With that massive amount of information, though, comes some burden. This book is part history and part memoir, which makes some parts odd to shift to and from. I appreciated that the author tried to express their bias, skepticism, and experience, but it left the book feeling a bit cumbersome in the wake of all the detailed names, dates, and history that we are presented in the first half of the book. This also left the ending feeling rushed with a seemingly 'Oh, yeah, I also did ayahuasca and here's just a quick couple paragraphs on that' (an experience I've never had in a nonfiction book).
I personally really liked the in-depth science behind how classic psychedelics work and reading the way medical experiments evolved as the scientists learned more and more about the compounds. I also enjoyed the questions Pollan beings up along the way, especially relating to the idea of reality and experience. These scientific areas may put others off if they do not enjoy those kinds of details, but I think the book is still accessible and easy enough to follow for non-scientific minds. I hope to read even more about the effects psychedelics have in treating depression and other "excesses of order" -- a term that I have never more heartily felt was an accurate description of the deep groove and uncontrollable introspection that depression imposes.
All in all this was a fascinating read and I learn a great deal on the subject. I'm glad it stayed mostly on topic of the scientific aspect of psychedelics' history, as I feel it prepared me to understand and learn more about other aspects of its use by non-scientific people, groups, and organizations.
With that massive amount of information, though, comes some burden. This book is part history and part memoir, which makes some parts odd to shift to and from. I appreciated that the author tried to express their bias, skepticism, and experience, but it left the book feeling a bit cumbersome in the wake of all the detailed names, dates, and history that we are presented in the first half of the book. This also left the ending feeling rushed with a seemingly 'Oh, yeah, I also did ayahuasca and here's just a quick couple paragraphs on that' (an experience I've never had in a nonfiction book).
I personally really liked the in-depth science behind how classic psychedelics work and reading the way medical experiments evolved as the scientists learned more and more about the compounds. I also enjoyed the questions Pollan beings up along the way, especially relating to the idea of reality and experience. These scientific areas may put others off if they do not enjoy those kinds of details, but I think the book is still accessible and easy enough to follow for non-scientific minds. I hope to read even more about the effects psychedelics have in treating depression and other "excesses of order" -- a term that I have never more heartily felt was an accurate description of the deep groove and uncontrollable introspection that depression imposes.
All in all this was a fascinating read and I learn a great deal on the subject. I'm glad it stayed mostly on topic of the scientific aspect of psychedelics' history, as I feel it prepared me to understand and learn more about other aspects of its use by non-scientific people, groups, and organizations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use