Bøker av Albert Hofmann

The masterpiece we have all been waiting for in this classic text from the 60s, Ergot Alkaloids comes to life in the English translation of Albert Hofmann's historic encyclopedia of Ergot Alkaloids and their derivatives. This title is a detailed account of chemical compounds and pharmacological investigation into the potential of magical plants. Starting with the botany and cultivation of the ergot mushroom, Hofmann takes us through the historical elaboration of the fungus including the poisoning epidemic of ergot and its early medical uses all the way to the use of psilocybin as a "magical drug". With a detailed timeline, we explore the growth of the pharmaceutical-chemical investigation from 1816 to 1961 with a total synthesis of ergotamine including tables of chemical structures and the role of lysergic acid, d-lysergic acid and diethylamide in experimental psychiatry gaining increasing importance in psychotherapy as a medical aid. Hofmann brings an observational account of these plants and their ceremonial and healing purposes still used by indigenous peoples such as the "Peyotl" cactus, "Teonanactl" the sacred mushroom of the Aztecs and "Ololiuqui" the seeds of bindweed plants. With representations of over 30 chemical structures and pharmaceutical analysis, Hofmann introduces the next generation of scientific knowledge into the world of hallucinogenic plants and special subgroups of psychotropic drugs which he calls phantastica, hallucinogens, psychotomimetic, psychedelica, psychodysleptics and more.

The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece for nearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strange accounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In this groundbreaking work, three experts—a mycologist, a chemist, and a historian—argue persuasively that the sacred potion given to participants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactive entheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures. Although controversial when first published in 1978, the book's hypothesis has become more widely accepted in recent years, as knowledge of ethnobotany has deepened. The authors have played critical roles in the modern rediscovery of entheogens, and The Road to Eleusis presents an authoritative exposition of their views. The book's themes of the universality of experiential religion, the suppression of that knowledge by exploitative forces, and the use of psychedelics to reconcile the human and natural worlds make it a fascinating and timely read. This 30th anniversary edition includes an appreciative preface by religious scholar Huston Smith and an updated exploration of the chemical evidence by Peter Webster.