Sacred Mushroom of Visions
Research & scholarshipThe revival
Thirty-odd contributors on psilocybin, from the chemistry through to the ceremonies.
Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom
Research & scholarshipThe revivalHistory, culture & policy
What it is
Andy Letcher, who holds doctorates in ecology and in religious studies, separates what is documented about psilocybin mushrooms from the folklore that has attached itself to them. He is sceptical of several claims the field repeats, among them readings of prehistoric rock art and the argument that mushrooms lie behind particular religious traditions. The result is the standard cultural history of the subject, and a useful corrective to the more confident accounts elsewhere on this shelf.
The record
- Author
- Andy Letcher
- Published
- 2006
- Publisher
- Faber and Faber
- ISBN
- 9780571227716
- Kind
- Research & scholarship
- Subject
- History, culture & policy
- Era
- The revival
- Links checked
- 04 Sep 2026, by request that the host refused. The page is live and declines automated readers.
Where to find it
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Related on this shelf
Psychedelic Psychiatry
The revival
Saskatchewan ran a psychedelic psychiatry programme for a decade. What happened to it.
The Psilocybin Solution
Reportage & memoirThe revival
Powell argues mushrooms drive meaning-making. Interpretive, and it says so.
Timothy Leary
The revival
Leary's Harvard papers, before the myth. Edited and annotated by a scholar.
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