Penguin Random House, Fachbücher, Food of the Gods (Englisch, Terence McKenna, 1993)

An exploration of humans' symbiotic relationships with plants and chemicals presents information on prehistoric partnership societies, the roles of spices and spirits in the rise of dominator societies and the politics of tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcohol. Why, as a species, are humans so fascinated by altered states of consciousness? Can altered states reveal something to us about our origins and our place in nature? In Food of the Gods, ethnobotanist Terence McKenna&rsquo s research on man&rsquo s ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. McKenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the East and the West, from ancient spice, sugar, and rum trades to marijuana, cocaine, synthetics, and even television&mdash illustrating the human desire for the &ldquo food of the gods&rdquo and the powerful potential to replace abuse of illegal drugs with a shamanic understanding, insistence on community, reverence for nature, and increased self-awareness. Praise for Food of the Gods &ldquo Deserves to be the modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens.&rdquo &mdash The Washington Post &ldquo Terence McKenna is the most important&mdash and most entertaining&mdash visionary scholar in America.&rdquo &mdash Tom Robbins &ldquo The culture&rsquo s foremost spokesperson for the psychedelic experience . . . Those who know and enjoy Joseph Campbell&rsquo s work will almost certainly appreciate McKenna.&rdquo &mdash L.A. Weekly &ldquo An eloquent proposal for recovering something vital&mdash a sense of the sacred, the transcendent, the Absolute&mdash before it&rsquo s too late.&rdquo &mdash Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Meaning & Medicine, Recovering the Soul, and Space, Time & Machine.