A review by pspspsp
Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey Into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism by Daniel Pinchbeck

4.0

This is much more than a cultural history of psychedelics. It is an argument for 21st century spirituality, which Pinchbeck claims is necessary to regain different levels of consciousness lost to the Western world. Towards the end, the book takes a rather bizarre turn but until then it's a good read. As a person who had previously only taken psychedelics for fun, Pinchbeck's book really made me reconsider the possibilities of these drugs and what other realities could be out there. It could have done with some information on acquiring some of these drugs, particuarly ibogaine which sounds potentially lifesaving. Pinchbeck was lucky enough to be able to go to shamanic retreats and that sort of thing through his work but the majority of people don't have that luxury.