Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond

Be the first to write a review

Overview

Acid Dreams is the complete social history of LSD and the counterculture it helped to define in the sixties. Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain's exhaustively researched and astonishing account -- part of it gleaned from secret government files -- tells how the CIA became obsessed with LSD as an espionage weapon during the early 1950s and launched a massive covert research program, in which countless unwitting citizens were used as guinea pigs. Though the CIA was intent on keeping the drug to itself, it ultimately ...
See more details below
Paperback (Revised Evergreen Edition)
$10.83
BN.com price
(Save 27%)$15.00 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (35) from $4.98   
  • New (19) from $6.98   
  • Used (16) from $4.98   
Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$9.75
BN.com price
(Save 35%)$15.00 List Price

More About This Book

Overview

Acid Dreams is the complete social history of LSD and the counterculture it helped to define in the sixties. Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain's exhaustively researched and astonishing account -- part of it gleaned from secret government files -- tells how the CIA became obsessed with LSD as an espionage weapon during the early 1950s and launched a massive covert research program, in which countless unwitting citizens were used as guinea pigs. Though the CIA was intent on keeping the drug to itself, it ultimately couldn't prevent it from spreading into the popular culture; here LSD had a profound impact and helped spawn a political and social upheaval that changed the face of America. From the clandestine operations of the government to the escapades of Timothy Leary, Abbie Hoffman, Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, Allen Ginsberg, and many others, Acid Dreams provides an important and entertaining account that goes to the heart of a turbulent period in our history.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
This fascinating study examines how the CIA tested LSD on unwitting residents of Greenwich Village and San Francisco. Of particular interest are profiles of Timothy Leary, LSD chemist Ronald Stark and others. (May)
Booknews
A reprint of the 1985 edition with a new introduction (Andrei Codrescu) and an afterword by the authors. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780802130624
  • Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
  • Publication date: 1/28/1994
  • Edition description: Revised Evergreen Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 199,846
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Whose Worlds Are These? xiii
Prologue xvii
Part 1 The Roots of Psychedelia
1. In the Beginning There Was Madness ... 3
The Truth Seekers 3
Enter LSD 12
Laboratories of the State 19
Midnight Climax 27
The Hallucination Battlefield 35
2. Psychedelic Pioneers 44
The Original Captain Trips 44
Healing Acid 53
Psychosis or Gnosis? 61
3. Under the Mushroom, Over the Rainbow 71
Manna From Harvard 71
Chemical Crusaders 77
The Crackdown 89
4. Preaching Lsd 96
High Surrealism 96
The Psychedelic Manual 106
The Hard Sell 113
5. The All-American Trip 119
The Great Freak Forward 119
Acid and the New Left 126
Part 2 Acid for the Masses
6. From Hip to Hippie 141
Before the Deluge 141
Politics of the Bummer 150
The First Human Be-In 157
7. The Capital of Forever 170
Stone Free 170
The Great Summer Dropout 179
8. Peaking in Babylon 194
A Gathering Storm 194
Magical Politics 201
Gotta Revolution 211
9. Season of the Witch 223
Armed Love 223
The Acid Brotherhood 234
Bad Moon Rising 251
10. What a Field Day for the Heat 259
Prisoner of Lsd 259
A Bitter Pill 267
The Great Lsd Conspiracy 276
Postscript: Acid and After 288
Afterword 295
References 298
Bibliography 323
Index 333
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews

  • Posted March 4, 2012

    I Loved This Book

    I Loved This Book

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 14, 2002

    This will change your life

    During the course of reading this book you read about the testimonials to the drug known as acid. Many users of the drug be it for scientific or recreational speak of being 'changed' significantly after the experience, this book will do the same. Reading it will change your mind about many things: the government, your rights, drug users, philosophy and above all the drug itself. A must read for anyone.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 31, 2001

    do you trust the government?

    lsd. acid. dose. blot. trip. whatever you call it, you'd think that it was invented by some crazy wizard over a boiling cauldron or something. although everyone knows that aint the way it is, the actual history of it WILL acutally get your attention. how many of you knew that our own government tested lsd on probably around half to 3/4 of their own men?? yeah. thats right. now read the book. learning is fun when its not forced =)

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 28, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 5, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)