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Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic
Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-twentieth century through Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, after which the word “psychedelic” was coined to describe it. Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: the earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples.
Mescaline was isolated in 1897 from the peyote cactus, first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. During the twentieth century it was used by psychologists investigating the secrets of consciousness, spiritual seekers from Aleister Crowley to the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, artists exploring the creative process, and psychiatrists looking to cure schizophrenia. Meanwhile peyote played a vital role in preserving and shaping Native American identity. Drawing on botany, pharmacology, ethnography, and the mind sciences and examining the mescaline experiences of figures from William James to Walter Benjamin to Hunter S. Thompson, this is an enthralling narrative of mescaline’s many lives.
Mescaline was isolated in 1897 from the peyote cactus, first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. During the twentieth century it was used by psychologists investigating the secrets of consciousness, spiritual seekers from Aleister Crowley to the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, artists exploring the creative process, and psychiatrists looking to cure schizophrenia. Meanwhile peyote played a vital role in preserving and shaping Native American identity. Drawing on botany, pharmacology, ethnography, and the mind sciences and examining the mescaline experiences of figures from William James to Walter Benjamin to Hunter S. Thompson, this is an enthralling narrative of mescaline’s many lives.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 18, 2019
About the author
Mike Jay
19 books36 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 25, 2019
Compendium of everything there is to know about this elusive psychedelic. It could have easily devolved into a reading list of “who tripped when and where” but Jay puts all mescaline subjects in good context of the science and culture of their time. Some enlightening stories emerge.
November 4, 2019
I've yet to read or watch anything on mescaline, San Pedro or peyote that gives such a deep look at everything from its chemistry to its history with Native Americans and white men. If you're looking to read up on this particular psychedelic compound or the plants they come from, Mike Jay's MESCALINE is the definitive book. Nothing else seems to compare.
March 30, 2021
Fascinating subject with lots of references. Nice!
January 14, 2021
Would have given 3.5 if possible. A decent job of research overall and some chapters and material done better and treated more usefully. But, often insufficiently explored or unpacked with an frequent overemphasis on unnecessary factoids that don't actually do anything to help the reader understand or contextualize what is being discussed. This book is at its best when it is richly descriptive and documentary, although that sits alongside a bunch of much thinner treatment. It is at its worst when the author's own personal analysis and opinions come through, which, thankfully, in this case, is less often than one might normally expect or desire. I did learn from this and found some useful leads, but there is still a lot more work and exposition to be done here.
December 12, 2019
I'm fast becoming a fan of Mike Jay's engagingly written micro-histories of drugs and psychedelics, and his newest is a fascinating exploration of mescaline, the psychoactive alkaloid of various cacti with a history both ancient and modern. From its role in ancient Peruvian and Mexican ritual use to its being the molecular grandfather to a host of ever-changing research chemicals, mescaline has done so much more than open the door to Aldous Huxley's perception. I was especially happy to learn more about Quanah Parker's efforts and the formation of the NAC from this book.
February 8, 2023
Mike Jay is a wonderful person, a thoughtful and thorough historian. He takes an anthropological lens and has utmost respect for the cultural significance of peyote and San Pedro amongst indigenous peoples, and weaves its story with western forces/movements. The read is dense at times, but worth it for anyone interested in psychedelic history!
April 15, 2021
Such a fascinating read, first half on indigenous tradition was especially interesting and a perspective I haven’t read much about in previous readings on the history of psychedelics.
August 5, 2023
Super interesting. I learned a lot. I did find the organization of the material a little odd at times and sometimes a little repetitive, but generally very good.
June 27, 2024
"For others it has been a sacrament, a direct connection to the energies if nature, the world of spirits or the mind of God."
March 21, 2020
SO CLOSE to being the book we needed... ...but falls just short. The half of the book dealing with centuries of sacred use of peyote by the native American tribes amidst the suffocating and cruel oppression of the US government is riveting. And the little known history of the doctors, collectors, artists, poets, priests, writers, socialites, philosophers, and pharmaceutical companies as they scrambled to profit in so many varied ways from the ingredient extracted from the peyote is fascinating and incredibly researched. Much mention is also rightly made of LSD as a rival to mescaline and the comparisons are fair.
Unfortunately, the book loses its way and resorts to useless filler as it rambles through the escapades of William Burroughs, Carlos Castaneda, and Hunter Thompson. Even the addition of a few pages on the brilliant and brave Alexander Shulgin are besides the point as it drifts into off-topic drug selections. Egregiously, the author makes nearly no mention of the far older and much more popular source of mescaline steeped in hundreds of more years of conflict between colonials and natives, the San Pedro cactuses of South America. So promising a text with an ultimately disappointing finish yet still an important and great resource for the parts it succeeds in.
Unfortunately, the book loses its way and resorts to useless filler as it rambles through the escapades of William Burroughs, Carlos Castaneda, and Hunter Thompson. Even the addition of a few pages on the brilliant and brave Alexander Shulgin are besides the point as it drifts into off-topic drug selections. Egregiously, the author makes nearly no mention of the far older and much more popular source of mescaline steeped in hundreds of more years of conflict between colonials and natives, the San Pedro cactuses of South America. So promising a text with an ultimately disappointing finish yet still an important and great resource for the parts it succeeds in.
March 25, 2020
I love these sorts of deep dives into counter-culture/drug history. This book did not stray from the historical scholar approach, which is good by me. The author did a great job of taking us through time discussing religious use, research, counter-culture, and legislation. He didn't leave us without providing a bit of hope for the future...if you're into those sorts of things.
March 17, 2019
Super fascinating and readable.
September 20, 2019
First book on psychedelics I've read that wasn't completely focused around the western cultural or scientific understanding.
March 9, 2023
As a person who considers themselves a psychonaut, this book was deeply fascinating. Psilocybin and LSD frequently dominate the psychedelic scene (both in mainstream culture and scientific research) but Mescaline holds its own special power.
I loved that this book dug deep into the culture of Indigenous Peoples and their millennia long traditions with these sacred, mescaline producing plants. I was afraid this book would highlight white culture/perspective only, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the Tribes and Nations who have been cultivating and caring for these medicines since time immemorial.
Mescaline remains a powerful, yet elusive medicine. Mainly baked into Native American culture by way of the Native American Church, this substance is sacred and hard to come by in society—as it should be. These are more than just plants. They are portals into the very depths of our soul. I hope one day to be able to experience the magic mescaline for myself, should it find its way to me.
I loved that this book dug deep into the culture of Indigenous Peoples and their millennia long traditions with these sacred, mescaline producing plants. I was afraid this book would highlight white culture/perspective only, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the Tribes and Nations who have been cultivating and caring for these medicines since time immemorial.
Mescaline remains a powerful, yet elusive medicine. Mainly baked into Native American culture by way of the Native American Church, this substance is sacred and hard to come by in society—as it should be. These are more than just plants. They are portals into the very depths of our soul. I hope one day to be able to experience the magic mescaline for myself, should it find its way to me.
December 4, 2019
I really was excited for this book. It is a very well researched collection on the history, sociology, legality and psychology of uses of mescaline and analysis of why its popularity as a sacrament and substance waned against the more popular LSD and other psychedelics. Provides a strong framework to understand that while mescaline's popularity waned, its chemical derivatives are very important in the community today.
Still not much new for the those well versed in the world of mescaline and psychedelics. I wanted more investigative and comparative research into modern use, traditional uses, issues arising from peyote, san pedro cultivation and exploration into new research derivatives.
He has a deep personal interest in the topic and it shows but the book relies too much on Huxley's, Oswald's and other well known western.
It's great for those less familiar with mescaline and its importance - I was just expecting something new and revealing.
Still not much new for the those well versed in the world of mescaline and psychedelics. I wanted more investigative and comparative research into modern use, traditional uses, issues arising from peyote, san pedro cultivation and exploration into new research derivatives.
He has a deep personal interest in the topic and it shows but the book relies too much on Huxley's, Oswald's and other well known western.
It's great for those less familiar with mescaline and its importance - I was just expecting something new and revealing.
August 23, 2023
Interesting history of peyote and mescaline --- its roots in Native American culture, then its spread through other spaces: social parties, scientific research, pharmacological and psychiatric investigation, artists, and psychonaut drug culture. The contrast between peyote ceremonies built around full group experiences and pharmacoligical research trying to isolate to physical effects in a clinical room was a striking theme throughout.
I appreciated learning more about mescaline's history in relation to LSD and MDMA too --- the way it was essentially a precursor culturally and research-wise, including being tried first by both Hoffman and Shulgin.
The book itself was pretty difficult to read: the writing is dense, and the way the story is told feels like a dry history book more than a compelling narrative to follow.
I appreciated learning more about mescaline's history in relation to LSD and MDMA too --- the way it was essentially a precursor culturally and research-wise, including being tried first by both Hoffman and Shulgin.
The book itself was pretty difficult to read: the writing is dense, and the way the story is told feels like a dry history book more than a compelling narrative to follow.
August 30, 2020
We truly live in the golden age of psychedelic litterateur. The essence and significance of LSD, ayahuasca, DMT have all been discussed and dissected, but mescaline and it’s flora have sadly been ignored, at least from my perspective. In A Global History of the First Psychedelic, Mike Jay presents an intriguing overview of the compound, from ancient days to present time. Without relying on glorified language or being to academic, the text is convincing without being preachy.
If you have any interest in mescaline, Mike Jay's book is a great introduction. Before delving into the academic or spiritual works, depending on what your looking for. Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception would also be a good next step.
If you have any interest in mescaline, Mike Jay's book is a great introduction. Before delving into the academic or spiritual works, depending on what your looking for. Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception would also be a good next step.
March 5, 2022
A very well-researched, comprehensive book that made the magic of the peyote ceremonies really come alive. Interesting, mystical, and respectfully written with regard to the importance of mescaline in Native American culture.
It was only let down by the author’s few spelling/grammatical errors and, at times, confusing and convoluted writing. A page of characters at the beginning would also not go amiss, as the book constantly introduces newer ones while referring back to older ones.
It was only let down by the author’s few spelling/grammatical errors and, at times, confusing and convoluted writing. A page of characters at the beginning would also not go amiss, as the book constantly introduces newer ones while referring back to older ones.
August 3, 2021
Very interesting approach to the history of psychedelics. Mike Jay did a great job by presenting the science, history and anthropological aspects. I really appreciate the mix, keeps the book interesting. Also important to remark the great job this book does going over the process by which drugs became illicit, and the whys. Great book!
December 30, 2022
As far as I know, this is the only comprehensive history of Mescaline, and in that regard it's a really great book. Especially the early chapters. The later parts of the book read more as a which European tripped where and when compendium which I didn't find as insightful.
February 5, 2023
3,5 very good but A LOT of information and names, sometimes used once but sometimes used at a later time without reference to earlier mentions. A fascinating subject with a rich history, but the book is not a pamphlet for using any of the substances described, which is refreshing.
May 6, 2021
A pretty good overview of the cultural and scientific history of Mescaline that has some errors and in other places it needs to be longer (ie, Shulgin is essentially only near the last pages).
February 22, 2022
Best book about the history of psychedelics I have read. No bullshit.
December 21, 2022
Nothing different than the previous books I've read pertaining to the same topic. Good read though
September 24, 2022
Meskalin historisch, kulturell und wissenschaftlich ausgearbeitet. Eine sehr spannende Substanz.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews