When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to...

"Psychedelics including psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, ayahuasca and peyote are poised to revolutionize mental health and alter the wellness industry forever. Once feared and misunderstood, psychedelics have emerged as one of the most promising therapies of the 21st century. Through cutting-edge research, substances such as MDMA and LSD are being recognized as powerful keys to healing and human improvement, offering solutions for mental health issues...

"When a once promising young writer agrees to ghostwrite a famous particle physicist's memoir, his livelihood is already in jeopardy: plagued by debt after failing to deliver a novel, he's grown distant from his wife -- a successful A.I. researcher -- and is haunted by an overwhelming dread he describes as "The Mist." Desperate for relief, he undergoes an experimental, psychedelic treatment and emerges to find his world transformed: joy suffuses every...

Two motorcyclists travel across the U.S. in search of the "real" America. And find it.

A 26-year-old oddball named Mark moves from Indiana to New York City after lying to his mother Peggy that he landed a job at a prestigious art gallery. Resorting to babysitting for an elite Brooklyn family, Mark discovers hope and self-discipline through his friendship with lonely six-year-old, and the adult superhero Leather man who is conjured from a psychedelic cupcake.

In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes, the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present...

"A fascinating, transformative look at the therapeutic powers of psychedelic drugs, particularly in the treatment of PTSD, and the past fifty years of scientific, political, and legal controversy they have ignited, by award-winning journalist Tom Shroder"--

"When he signed up for a psychedelic retreat run by a mysterious Argentine woman deep in Brazil's rainforest in early 2018, Ernesto Londono, a veteran New York Times journalist, was so depressed he had come close to jumping off his terrace weeks earlier.His nine-day visit to Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center included four nighttime ceremonies during which participants imbibed a vomit-inducing plant-based brew that contained DMT, a powerful mind-altering...

"Christof Koch explores the only thing we directly experience: consciousness. At the book's heart is integrated-information theory, the idea that the essence of consciousness is the ability to exert causal power over itself, to be an agent of change. Kochinvestigates the physical origins of consciousness in the brain and how this knowledge can be used to measure consciousness in natural and artificial systems"--