I had never even heard of Terence McKenna when I bought this book, and now I am a devoted "follower." I can't precisely recall what impelled me to buy this, but some vague impulse last year led me to do so, and one day last month this book emerged at the top of my reading stack.
Let me premise my review with this admonition: Even if a particular reader finds the usage of psychedelic drugs to be a bad idea or just plain wrong, they may still really enjoy this book. The level of adventure in this book is stratospheric. It really is a voyage into the outermost reaches of the Universe and the innermost reaches of the mind. It is an exploration of human consciousness and the nature of life itself. Even though I really don't like the word, I would call it a survey of "spiritual" themes, and a sincere effort to determine our place in the Cosmos. This is a serious book. Furthermore, the intrigues and bizarre developments of this tale make it a true "page turner." I could hardly put this down as the account unfolded. By way of contrast, immediately before this book I read Eric Newby's famous travel piece "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush." Suffice it to say, this "travel" book made that one seem pedestrian and stale by comparison.
Part of the reason that the account here is so compelling is because McKenna is simply an amazing writer. Every sentence just sizzles with lucidity and intelligence. I'm obsessed with clarity in writing--I like to be able to visualize exactly what the writer is attempting to convey. McKenna delivers a powerhouse of a story here--amazingly, the use of hallucinogens and smoking all that weed did not impair his ability to write like a master story-teller. I now feel like I lived this experience myself--I feel like I was personally there with the intrepid hippie group at La Chorrera in 1971. He rounds out this account with events which occurred before and after "the expedition" to La Chorrera, and at the end of the tale he even tells us where all of the members of the group are at and what they are then doing (I presume somewhere around 1991 or thereabouts). The entire arc of the story is satisfyingly completed--although, as he says, with living people the story is always ongoing.
McKenna concocts some bizarre theory on the nature of time. He calls it "Time Wave" and he has a computer program dedicated to it, and I believe another book elaborating on it. He describes it very well here. It is a byproduct of his expedition to La Chorrera; it is based in some special insight he has received from the psilocybin mushrooms. He is speaking of themes so vast and deep in this theory of time that even if he is only 10% correct in his predictions he will be deemed a genius on the level of Einstein. He even recognizes that his theories put him somewhere between being Newton and a raving lunatic. Terence is very good at laughing at himself; part of what makes him so palatable is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. Unfortunately, his Time Wave theory predicted the absolute end of the Universe on December 22, 2012. Fortunately for us, he was wrong. But that does not mean that all the working components of his theory are wrong--there may be layers of real insight there. Even Einstein admitted that many of his ideas started as instincts or hunches. The fact that McKenna fueled his ideas with psychedelic drugs does not detract from their potential value in my view. If one thing is clear, these drugs turbocharge the brain for some duration and lead it to fanciful, creative epiphanies. And I wouldn't laugh at Terence McKenna or mock him until I read this book and perhaps watched some of his speeches on YouTube. This guy has serious intellectual horsepower, and even if he wrong about everything he is still smarter than most people in the room.
A couple of chapters in to the book I realized that Terence and his brother Dennis, while hippie-types, were both extremely ambitious aspiring scientists, and I use the word scientist in the most strict and conventional sense. I'm not sure if they had their degrees at the point of La Chorrera (1971), but they later received multiple degrees from Berkeley and elsewhere in the areas which are the subject matter of this book--botany, neuroscience, shamanism, theology, etc. At the time of these events, they were wise enough to realize that they didn't know what they were dealing with, and they put their ideas out there with technical scientific linguistics, but still with modesty and self-effacing tentativeness. They acknowledged their ideas as conjecture, ideas that still had to be tested and proven. Make no mistake about, the McKenna brothers are likable fellows, and certainly mightily courageous for taking on all this insane substance abuse in one of the most remote areas of the world. I admire their ambition and devotion to exploring some of the deepest ideas known to man. These guys aren't partying--they are investigating. They are on a serious mission.
Terence does a flashback to a year before the expedition, somewhere around 1970. He tells us of a married couple he met in a seedy hotel in Timor, Eastern Indonesia. The man is an imposing German who survived WWII and doesn't seem in the least ashamed of his former Nazi affiliation. Even worse, he now works for an international mining company and he is doing a mining assessment in the region. The German and Terence have several extremely intense conversations in the hotel's restaurant. He wants to recruit Terence for his company's impending operations in the Amazon. The German's beautiful wife sits there silently looking at each of the men as the conversation goes back and forth. This account and its epilogue was so riveting I literally had to reschedule a meeting as I worked my way through it. Terence describes it as one of life's "cosmic giggles" and I would have to say that expression is entirely apropos to many of the episodes in Terence McKenna's life.
A few startling chapters in to this book had me turning to Wikipedia to read more about Terence McKenna. Who was this eccentric character? I can't tell you how sad I was to hear that he died in 2000 from brain cancer. I suspect his physical mind couldn't keep up with the influx of chemicals which were pumping through it over the years. But as I read the book I had to fight off tears when I thought that such a revolutionary mind was no longer. I suspect, though, Terence would be the first to tell me that my notions of life and death are simple and probably wrong. His energy is probably still out there in some form.
One part Helena Blavatsky, one part Hunter Thompson, and several other parts other geniuses of assorted varieties and shades, Terence McKenna was a unique and powerful voice. My paperback version of this book is now tattered--there is highlighting in several shades, hundreds of little check marks and notes-to-self. I read about 20 books a year, and I try to stick to the "classics." Like I said, I'm not sure how this cult/lunatic-fringe piece made it onto my pile, but I would say that this is possibly the best piece of non-fiction I have ever read. Even if Terence McKenna's surmising about everything is patently wrong (as he was bluntly told by many "real experts"), then he has still created a piece of science fiction that is unequalled. Each page of this book is a shotgun blast of profound ideas. I plan on giving this book to several extremely smart people who I know, none of whom uses any drugs to my knowledge. I still think that they will find this book to be a gold mine of substantive ideas and artistic inspiration. Terence McKenna was a fanatically dedicated voyager, investigator, scientist, and most importantly: "mythopoet." That's his word, and he personified it perfectly. He had the courage to listen to the mushrooms which came from aliens somewhere in outer space, and he tried to establish friendly rapport.
Don't all the true visionaries seem preposterously crazy at first blush?
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Amazing read for any psychonaut.. Reductionists beware
An absolutely amazing read! However I will say, if you have a reductionist or mechanicalistic view of the world and or have never had a proper psychedelic experience, this book will aggravate you beyond belief.With that being said, I found that this book offers a number of thrilling stories, theories, and insights. All of which ultimately lead the reader down the path of further understanding and inquiry into our very surreal connection with psilocybin containing fungi and the universe.Gifting to a friend that has been yearning to read this for some time now. Highly recommend.RIP Terence
