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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.1
EAN: 9780802130624
ISBN: 0802130623
Label: Grove Press
Manufacturer: Grove Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: January 21, 1994
Publisher: Grove Press
Sales Rank: 148934
Studio: Grove Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Acid Dreams is the complete social history of LSD and the counterculture it helped to define in the sixties. Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain's exhaustively researched and astonishing account-part of it gleaned from secret government files-tells how the CIA became obsessed with LSD as an espionage weapon during the early l950s and launched a massive covert research program, in which countless unwitting citizens were used as guinea pigs. Though the CIA was intent on keeping the drug to itself, it ultimately couldn't prevent it from spreading into the popular culture; here LSD had a profound impact and helped spawn a political and social upheaval that changed the face of America. From the clandestine operations of the government to the escapades of Timothy Leary, Abbie Hoffman, Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, Allen Ginsberg, and many others, Acid Dreams provides an important and entertaining account that goes to the heart of a turbulent period in our history. 'Engaging throughout . . . at once entertaining and disturbing.' - Andrew Weil, M.D., The Nation; 'Marvelously detailed . . . loaded with startling revelations.' - Los Angeles Daily News; 'An engrossing account of a period . . . when a tiny psychoactive molecule affected almost every aspect of Western life.' - William S. Burroughs; 'An important historical synthesis of the spread and effects of a drug that served as a central metaphor for an era.' - John Sayles.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A Fascinating History of LSD and the Sixties.
_Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond_, first published in 1985 and revised in 1992, by journalist and author Martin A. Lee and author Bruce Shlain is a fascinating and wild account of the history of LSD in America. The implications of this journalistic history are startling in that they show the role of the CIA and the government of the United States in creating much of the LSD culture that grew up during the Sixties. I should add that one advantage of this book over Martin A. Lee's other book _The Beast Reawakens_ (1999) is that Lee is able to keep a cool head and write about LSD without lapsing into paroxysms of hysteria as he does when writing about Nazis. This is very fortunate for the reader because it spares us from having to sort through a lot of irrelevant nonsense. The history of LSD in the United States is a fascinating one, and the creation of a drug culture in the Sixties as well as the links between this culture and the hippies, the New Left, and the anti-war movement offers much interesting material. But, lurking behind the whole thing is the nefarious role of the CIA and the government, originally in testing out these drugs in a series of unethical experiments and later in possibly manipulating the very culture that arose from their newfound prevalence itself. This is a fascinating story and one that should be told particularly in light of the complex relationship that has always existed between the drug culture and the state.
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Rating: - Beyond is Right- This book it GREAT
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NWFN612DXX3 My video review of Acid Dream. Really great bookAcid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond. ***** 5 stars =)
Rating: - Top End Data
Yhis book belongs on the bookshelf of all those interested in the early days of psychedelic research and it's social ramifications. One word for it: Excellent!
Rating: - awesome!
Can't think of a more informative and interesting way of describing this period of time. I loved this book. Big thanks to the authors!
Rating: - EXCELLENT
This book is perfect - It offered everything I was hoping for when I first purchased it. It covered from the end of the 50's and the Beat generation and how their influence lead into the hippie generation, and it ended in the early 70's tying in the beginning of rock and punk. It is a true spectrum of the 1960's counterculture generation.
It's a large book but its facinating to learn about the history and the culture. Like previous reviewers said, it really ties up everyhting and clearly shows the correalation between the drug counterculture and the govn't & society during that time period. I was born in the 80's and this book really showed me alot about the 60's counterculture and the attitudes towards drug use and young people during that time. I can see alot of correalations between that era with Vietnam as the war that they were protesting versus todays war in Iraq and the amount of US citizens that are against it.
The author also goes into government policies at the time and conspiricys and covert CIA and classified documents. I was amazed by the actions of the CIA and thetesting of LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. It is like the stuff movies are made of but it really happened! Truly and amazing and interesting book - I could not put it down. I reccomend it to everyone, regardless of your view on LSD or drug counterculture - a true wealth of information on 1960's America.
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