Uncovering the Ancient Mystery of the Tree of Knowledge: A Culinary Journey to the Food of the Gods

Luke in Iowa: I’m sure many scientists and the religious would hate this book. I found it refreshing. The concepts about sugar and alcohol and dominator culture make so much sense to explain ‘Merica. He really was ahead of his time on putting his finger on the pulse of societal decline. There’s an audiobook recording on YouTube for free. It’s 9+ hours but it’s word for word what’s in here. I think this is mandatory material to read or listen to. Even if you don’t agree with him, hear him out. He resonates with me on so many notions but explains them in ways I’m too stupid to on my own.

United States on Dec 18, 2023

HotHipMomma: This book digs into so much about the origin of belief systems and religion as well as how our consciousness expanded through the times and by which substances/plants we consumed. It goes on to track how these things shaped us as societies and how damaging it is that we've gotten away from being able to access our subconscious with them. Highly recommended read for anyone on a path of exploring how to find more to life.

United States on Dec 06, 2023

Kindle Customer: I prefer audiobooks but I like to own my favorites

Canada on Aug 28, 2023

Amazon56: As long as you’re open minded I don’t see how you couldn’t enjoy this book.

United States on Jul 15, 2023

Gabriela Najera: Llegó antes de lo pensado Gracias

Mexico on Dec 19, 2022

2bo: Das ist mal wieder eines dieser Bücher, die ich gern 20 Jahre früher gelesen hätte. Ich möchte gar nicht groß auf den Inhalt eingehen - bitte selber lesen. Ich habe es auf Englisch gelesen und musste öfter mal Vokabeln nachschauen. Es ist für mich der Gegenpart zu Ray Kurzweil's the Singularity is near. Diese Bücher ergänzen sich. Die hier gebrachten Thesen sind oft steil bis unglaublich, aber keinesfalls dumm. Ich habe zwar nicht alles verstanden und es derzeit verliehen, aber danach muss ich nich mal lesen!

Germany on Dec 02, 2022

Pauline D.: Livre offert à un proche, il a adoré !

France on Aug 04, 2022

Lasse Järvensivu: Boken beskriver mycket möjliga rötter till det psykedeliska riket och beskriver en historia som sträcker sig över tio tusen år tillbaka i tiden. Flera olika folkstammar beskrivs. Den beskriver bortfallet av psykedeliska växter ur vår kulturella diet och hur "den äkta varan" byttes ut mot t.ex. abstrakta symboler och till slut även en glömska av det gudomliga som dessa plantor hävdas ge. Relativt nutida händelser skildras också, såsom "the war on drugs", kriget mot drogerna, samt en blick i hur framtiden skulle kunna se ut.

Jag kände mig gripen och fascinerad genom hela boken. Jag kände mig känslomässigt investerad i kapitlen och fick dessutom några riktigt goda skratt. Det är en historiebok med bias till drogliberalitet.

Kan inte rekommendera den nog. Skaffa den! Väl värt läsningen.

Sweden on Sep 13, 2021

Bryan Desmond: This one took me a while. And while I was reading other books during the two months that it took me to read Food of the Gods, that length of time was mostly due to the books density and depth of information.

I was familiar with ethnobotanist and revered psychonaut, Terence McKenna, through his lectures, though this is my first time actually reading any of his work. Food of the Gods was a great place to start. Within, McKenna guides the reader through a history of psychedelic plants (and other indole hallucinogens) and how they affected the cultures that interacted with them. He touches on his 'stoned ape' theory, which I've always found intriguing (now more than ever), and which (if proven) would certainly indicate that the effect these ancient plants had on humankind was immense. McKenna goes on to describe the crumbling relationship humans have had with these plants and substances across thousands of years; the shift we have enacted from 'partnership societies' to the 'dominator society' in which we currently find ourselves. Thus, the book can be seen as a sort of call to action; to return once more to the realm of empathy, partnership, and freedom of consciousness which...

United States on Jun 22, 2018

Stephen S.: I was a little surprised to find that this was a chronological history and academic work with plenty of references, a glossary and an index that explores the role that various psychoactive substances have played in the evolution and development of man, culture and society. I've had personal experience with most of the substances that he reviews, and I would also agree that the indole containing plant derivatives, including Psilocybin from mushrooms and the semi-synthetic LSD-25, are the most interesting in terms of their historical significance, effects and potency. The fact that the human brain has receptors that respond to these indole compounds does not seem accidental.

I am personally sympathetic with many of Terrence McKenna's views, although some of those views are difficult, if not impossible, to prove or refute. It seems that one of the main points of the book is his contention that the indole ring containing psychoactive substances played a significant role in human evolution and may have played a key role in the development of language and communication. Females may have played a more important role here than males, largely because their roles in early societies...

United States on Aug 25, 2013