Only 150 pages or so long, with color or black and white glossy illustrations on almost every page, High Society is presented as a visual history of the use of psychoactive substances, but Jay’s narrative transcends this. Such are Jay’s talents in telling this story and in picking what fascinating tidbits to include and what not to, this book would be almost as good without any illustrations whatsoever. [ read more ]
One of the most interesting features of this book is the fact that joining Ram Dass and Metzner—whose conversations with Bravo form the bulk of the text—are a rich assortment of shorter but no less personal statements by a wide selection of surviving individuals who were involved with psychedelics in the 1960s. If Leary, Ram Dass, and Metzner were the “fathers” of the movement, then these other folks were the mothers, foster-parents, midwives, baby-sitters, mischievous aunts and uncles, fellow travelers, and simple eyewitnesses to the growth of the culture that was birthed during that time. [ read more ]