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yves000's review against another edition
5.0
I understand that there are controversial elements of McKenna’s arguments and that his points lend themselves to further evaluation (like those of any other academic), but truthfully I think this is a fantastic piece with so many important insights. It’s nice to have a perspective that gives realistic framework to better understanding the war on drugs and it’s consequences while also pushing the collective forward, suggesting there’s possibility and room to do better. This book may not tell the whole story, but it’s an excellent foundation for stirring necessary conversation. Yes, it is pretty dense, but it’s also well written; I had to piece my way through each chapter...but I think if you approach it like a textbook and take your time, or even split it up audio/text, it’s worth it.
stine_0's review against another edition
3.0
One Sentence Review: We could heal the world if we all give up sugar, eat mushrooms, and have orgies.
crunchplant's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I will say before anything else, it took me a LONG ASS TIME to finish this book, but it felt well worth it.
Food of the Gods is an argumentative collection of essays in favor of properly assessing the human drive for states of altered consciousness, and properly supporting this immenent usage. In his work he faithfully delves into cited works recounting historical usage and cultivation of drugs, and moves onwards to cover modern changes and effects of such. He compares the culture surrounding opinions and usage, and makes compelling points on all grounds. The largest statement of the book revolves not around drug usage, but of reviving the connection between humanity and nature - something I am very passionate about. It is through this overarching message he manages to display the difference between nature-provided hallucinogenics that dissolve ego and promote open thinking (mushrooms and cannabis) and the target of the current war on drugs: man processed hard drugs - drugs that are but a heavily concentrated and manipulated from of what nature provided as a good and resource (cocaine, heroin, etc), and intended to elevate ego or suppress freedom of thought.
A mere description could not cover a fraction of such a work. So instead I will make my few points for readers to consider: this book was written in the 90s, it is sure to fall short on history or research further published, but it is a great beginning for educating oneself in human gratification and altered states of consciousness. It also serves well to help opens one mind to more paths of thought, unrestricted by societal or common thought. I will say, in it's rather uncommon and likely easily refused topic, the book itself seems to impose the reader takes it seriously (as the topic is a call for neo-archaic revival) by using dense academic language. It is a necessary defense for the book , but it can take some time to adjust to and make it feel hard to get through the book.
Overall, a good well written book, my only issue was some outdated concepts as well as the lackluster final chapter. I found myself devouring the animated calls for change, but the final chapter seemed to just reiterate previous statements instead of drive the concept home with a hammer.
Food of the Gods is an argumentative collection of essays in favor of properly assessing the human drive for states of altered consciousness, and properly supporting this immenent usage. In his work he faithfully delves into cited works recounting historical usage and cultivation of drugs, and moves onwards to cover modern changes and effects of such. He compares the culture surrounding opinions and usage, and makes compelling points on all grounds. The largest statement of the book revolves not around drug usage, but of reviving the connection between humanity and nature - something I am very passionate about. It is through this overarching message he manages to display the difference between nature-provided hallucinogenics that dissolve ego and promote open thinking (mushrooms and cannabis) and the target of the current war on drugs: man processed hard drugs - drugs that are but a heavily concentrated and manipulated from of what nature provided as a good and resource (cocaine, heroin, etc), and intended to elevate ego or suppress freedom of thought.
A mere description could not cover a fraction of such a work. So instead I will make my few points for readers to consider: this book was written in the 90s, it is sure to fall short on history or research further published, but it is a great beginning for educating oneself in human gratification and altered states of consciousness. It also serves well to help opens one mind to more paths of thought, unrestricted by societal or common thought. I will say, in it's rather uncommon and likely easily refused topic, the book itself seems to impose the reader takes it seriously (as the topic is a call for neo-archaic revival) by using dense academic language. It is a necessary defense for the book , but it can take some time to adjust to and make it feel hard to get through the book.
Overall, a good well written book, my only issue was some outdated concepts as well as the lackluster final chapter. I found myself devouring the animated calls for change, but the final chapter seemed to just reiterate previous statements instead of drive the concept home with a hammer.
blissfulchaos88's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised at how fantastic this book was. The concept of partner vs dominator structure can be applied to SO many things. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read it again. Audible version is good.
mayra198's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
anotherpath's review against another edition
3.0
"Plants are the missing link to understand the human mind and it's place in nature."
Terence McKenna is one of those guys whose always been on the periphery of many of the other people that I read and listen to. I see his stuff all over my Instagram pretty regularly, and Joe Rogan always talks about him (I listen to maybe 3% of his podcast episodes). I didn't realize HOW MUCH of this book I'd 'read' prior to reading it. Even Brian Muraresku builds on a lot of the same mythbuilding and Science that Terrence and those who predate him did.
McKenna is also one of those guys that might require you to have had a psychedlic experience to really get into. He has a tendency to be a bit verbose, but so do a lot of people who find themselves unmoored from the constraints of socially conditioned speech patterns.
This book, Food of the Gods, entails the Stoned Ape Theory hypothesis that McKenna is most famous, and oft derided for. In the work Mckenna gives a handful of hypothetical possibilities among todays species of Mushrooms as a candidate for that theory, and then dives deeply into the other Plant-based Psychedelics and their corresponding nature. He also examines these subjects in comparison to other drugs that society accepts, and administers to her people, such as Sugar, Television and Alcohol. He can often come across as BOTH a hippy and someone who wants strong government interventions. When he suggests 200% Sales Tax on all decriminalized substances, I found myself wondering at the irony of some of his suggestions.
The space between McKenna's beliefs and my own is narrow. He's a subject matter expert in a field that I have dabbling interest in, but have no interest in pursuing to the depth that he and others have.
I do think that Plant Intelligence is a very real thing. I think all things manifest various facets of the myriads of Intelligences that compose the Universe. I think McKenna is right in that we need to pursue an understanding of these experiences, and I also personally believe that anyone who hasn't had at least one intense psychedellic experience (barring health disposition), shouldn't comment on it, because they're ignorant to a brevity of experience beyond the singular event in the same way a virgin is.
I'd recommend it if you believe in homeopathic naturalistic healing and art. I'd recommend it if you have interest in drug culture. I'm sure much of the information is dated in the thirty years since it's original publication. What I'm also sure of is that anyone who derides McKenna off-handedly as unserious, is doing Science and Rationalism a disservice.
Terence McKenna is one of those guys whose always been on the periphery of many of the other people that I read and listen to. I see his stuff all over my Instagram pretty regularly, and Joe Rogan always talks about him (I listen to maybe 3% of his podcast episodes). I didn't realize HOW MUCH of this book I'd 'read' prior to reading it. Even Brian Muraresku builds on a lot of the same mythbuilding and Science that Terrence and those who predate him did.
McKenna is also one of those guys that might require you to have had a psychedlic experience to really get into. He has a tendency to be a bit verbose, but so do a lot of people who find themselves unmoored from the constraints of socially conditioned speech patterns.
This book, Food of the Gods, entails the Stoned Ape Theory hypothesis that McKenna is most famous, and oft derided for. In the work Mckenna gives a handful of hypothetical possibilities among todays species of Mushrooms as a candidate for that theory, and then dives deeply into the other Plant-based Psychedelics and their corresponding nature. He also examines these subjects in comparison to other drugs that society accepts, and administers to her people, such as Sugar, Television and Alcohol. He can often come across as BOTH a hippy and someone who wants strong government interventions. When he suggests 200% Sales Tax on all decriminalized substances, I found myself wondering at the irony of some of his suggestions.
The space between McKenna's beliefs and my own is narrow. He's a subject matter expert in a field that I have dabbling interest in, but have no interest in pursuing to the depth that he and others have.
I do think that Plant Intelligence is a very real thing. I think all things manifest various facets of the myriads of Intelligences that compose the Universe. I think McKenna is right in that we need to pursue an understanding of these experiences, and I also personally believe that anyone who hasn't had at least one intense psychedellic experience (barring health disposition), shouldn't comment on it, because they're ignorant to a brevity of experience beyond the singular event in the same way a virgin is.
I'd recommend it if you believe in homeopathic naturalistic healing and art. I'd recommend it if you have interest in drug culture. I'm sure much of the information is dated in the thirty years since it's original publication. What I'm also sure of is that anyone who derides McKenna off-handedly as unserious, is doing Science and Rationalism a disservice.