Record / Library · Books / 1968
Cover of Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality

Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality

R. Gordon Wasson · Harcourt Brace Jovanovich · 1968

Research & scholarshipBefore the banHistory, culture & policy
Institutional

What it is

A founding work of ethnomycology by banker-turned-scholar R. Gordon Wasson, advancing the argument that the 'Soma' of the ancient Hindu Rig Veda was the Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushroom. Drawing on botany, philology, and cultural history, it became a touchstone for later scholarly discussion of sacred mushroom use across cultures. The book is a humanities argument about religious history, not a clinical or pharmacological study; it serves as historical bedrock for the deep-history thread of the collection. Originally published 1968 by Harcourt, Brace & World.

The record

Author
R. Gordon Wasson
Published
1968
Publisher
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
ISBN
0156838001
Kind
Research & scholarship
Subject
History, culture & policy
Era
Before the ban
Links checked
31 Jul 2026, and they resolved.

Where to find it

We sell nothing and take no commission on any link on this page.

Cover of LSD

LSD

Albert Hofmann · 1980

Reportage & memoirThe long pause

Hofmann made LSD, then watched what the world did with it. His own account.

Cover of The Doors of Perception

The Doors of Perception

Aldous Huxley · 1954

Reportage & memoirBefore the ban

The 1954 mescaline essay that every later psychedelic writer is answering, knowingly or not.

Cover of Acid Dreams

Acid Dreams

Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain · 1985

Reportage & memoirThe long pause

How LSD travelled from CIA project to counterculture to Schedule I. The politics, documented.

Cover of Food of the Gods

Food of the Gods

Terence McKenna · 1992

Reportage & memoirThe long pause

McKenna's big claim, that psychoactive plants shaped human consciousness. Read it as argument.

The works listed here are third-party publications, included for reference. Listing is not endorsement, and nothing here is a medical or efficacy claim. Rights holders can request removal at any time.