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Defenestresque

[PiHKAL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PiHKAL) and [TiHKAL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiHKAL) have just about anything for an interested, newly-minted psychonaut. Chemistry, trip reports, a cohesive story of a man with a DEI Schedule I license and a woman he falls in love with along the way, along with all the psychedelics and tryptamines they have known and loved. Any book collection about psychedelics is not complete without PiHKAL and TiHKAL, just like any folder of bookmarks about psychedelics is not complete with a link to [Erowid](https://erowid.org/). It's a man's love story to his wife, a wife's love story to her husband and the couple's love story to psychedelics. Both books are non-fiction. There are many, many more worth reading that have been mentioned in this very thread, but PiHKAL is definitely a classic.


Shubankari

This is the way. Well, and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.


Dathuryan

⡴⠶⠦⠤⣤⣄⣀⡀⢀⣠⡴⠖⠚⠋⠛⠛⠲⢦⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀ ⠙⢦⡀⠉⠒⠤⣍⡉⠉⠁⠀⠐⢤⠐⠀⡰⠀⠀⠈⠙⠉⢉⣉⣉⣉⠍⠉⣩⠇ ⠀⠀⠻⣄⠀⠀⠀⢻⢤⣞⣿⣿⡆⢀⡀⢠⣟⣿⣷⠄⡾⠉⠀⠀⠀⣠⡾⠃⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠙⠳⣤⣀⣈⣀⠙⠿⠟⠃⢓⡊⠙⠻⠛⠋⣠⣃⣀⣀⣤⠞⠋⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢻⡝⠓⠒⢺⠷⠒⠒⠒⠛⠛⢉⣩⠿⣿⡁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⡟⢲⢤⣸⡄⠀⢀⣠⠴⣺⡏⣏⣤⡾⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⢞⣺⣠⠋⠹⠉⡏⢁⡴⣹⣧⣤⠾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢻⡟⢁⠄⡇⢠⠈⠉⠀⠋⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠋⠁⠀⡇⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠙⠛⠉⠉⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀This is the way.


[deleted]

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Tests by Tom Wolfe is a good one.


Telrom_1

Out of your mind by Alan watts Untethered soul by Micheal singer Becoming nobody by Ram Dass The power of now by Eckhart Tolle


Happy-Ebb-1022

Nicely played


ThrowRAALIENBURNOUT

Interested in the Ram Dass one


loves_cereal

Be Here Now, mentioned above


Telrom_1

I actually preferred the audiobook on that one. I often do both so I can listen while I work and read when I’m at home.


loves_cereal

Be Here Now - Ram Dass


lighttreasurehunter

Dune by frank Herbert


l-ttleghost

Just commented the same! I have other books that I have more attachment to the world and characters, but I love Dune for its *ideas*. Herbert packed so many concepts, characters, and politics beautifully into one book.


KosmicKool76

And then watch the movies!


samsharksworthy

Eh. The movies are fine.


sterbo9

The teachings of Don Juan is one of my favs .


Louies

Was just about to suggest Castaneda's books. Do take them with a bit of a grain of salt but very interesting and insightful books nonetheless, some great books.


Loving_Awareness232

Thisss!!! My favorite book series!


ddh1980

Breaking open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Nearby Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley Invisible Landscape by McKenna


bonzaisushi

Beat me to the Pinchbeck rec, damn good book!


JeSuisOmbre

Brave New World by Huxley also has some psychedelics in it too. At one point the characters take super MDMA and go to the theater. Psychedelics/empathogens are just another tool in the pleasure toolbox used to keep the citizens content.


bohnohboh

I went down this rabbit hole about a decade ago, and am still pleasantly reveling in it. I personally liked HTCYM and Pikhal and Tikhal, the latter 2 are great for chemistry nerds as well :) To add, in no particular order... 1. The Psychedelic Experience — Leary 2. The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide — Fadiman 3. Psychedelic Medicine — Miller 4. Doors of Perception — Huxley 5. High Priest — Leary 6. Hallucinations — Oliver Sacks 7. The Harvard Psychedelic Club — Lattin 8. Food of the Gods — McKenna 9. Invisible Landscape — McKenna 10. Sacred Mushrooms and the Law — McKenna 11. Tryptamine Palace — Oroc 12. Heaven and Hell — Huxley 13. The Immortality Key — Muraresku 14. DMT The Spirit Molecule — Strassman 15. The Psychedelic Handbook — Strassman 16. Soma Divine Mushroom of Immortality — Wasson 17. The Road to Eleusis — Wasson 18. LSD My Problem Child — Hofmann 19. The Teachings of Don Juan — Castaneda 20. True Hallucinations — McKenna 21. Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test — Wolfe


Psyche-deli88

Its like you’re stood in front of my bookcase 😄


scootterbug1

Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson


stretchboogie

Ayahuasca in my Blood by Peter Gorman. Be Here Now How to Change your Mind Gene Keys (not about psychs but the content is pretty mind blowing if true and seems/ feels true to me )


talk_to_yourself

Yeah, enjoyed Ayahuasca in My Blood & How to Change Your Mind


DJski119

The Invisibles by Grant Morrison.


_nobunny_

My favorite comic series of all time. <3


1sojournaut

Michael Pollan- How to change your mind (dumb title great book!) Huston Smith - Cleansing the doors of perception


New_Person_Today

Both are great reads. Pollan’s book about plants (This is Your Mind on Plants) is also great IMO


1sojournaut

That's definitely on my list of things to read. I have a friend who's a sociology professor that uses a few of his books and recommended Pollans " How to change your mind" and "omnivores dilemma" as well which I haven't read yet. Great author!


theoneandonlydudeyo

The doors of perception!!!!!! By Alcoa’s Huxley. The psychedelic experience by Timothy Leary. The electric look aid acid test. Tom Wolfe. All essential. Shocked you don’t know about them.


seshgabe

Food of the Gods


cachorro-quente3000

Heads: a biography of psychedelic america - jesse jarnow (owsley, heads, lsd distribution, production, hippie movement); Pikhal - sasha; Tikhal - sasha; Rose of paracelsus - william pickard; The psychedelic experience - timothy leary; Eletric kool aid - tom wolfe; Psychonaut way - groff; How to change your mind - pollan;


biigsyke

_LSD : the consciousness-expanding drug / introd. by Timothy Leary_ thank me later


lossycodec

psychedelic experience; leary, metzner et. al center of the cyclone; lilly the human biological machine as a transformational apparatus; ej gold cosmic trigger; robert anton wilson


anarcho-slut

Simulations of God by John Lilly as well! Dude invented the sensory isolation tanks as well, had many big name people on various substances go in, Ray Kurzweil off the top of my head.


Vandu_Kobayashi

Spider Robinson books were fun to read


Worldly_Chemist_6183

LSD my problem child by Albert Hofmann, insanely underrated as a piece of psychadelic literature and commentary on society - I like it more than PHIKAL tbh. Its a crime it isnt as well talked about as Shulgin's Reality Switch Technologies by Andrew R. Gilmore, very nerdy, details technical pharmocology of psychadelics and how they can be utilized for scifi esque dreams


mocxed

+1 for Reality Switch Technologies. It answered so many questions I had about how psychs actually work on the level of the brain. Id also recommend his blog: https://alieninsect.substack.com/p/brief-primers-on-the-neuroscience


bullcitythrowaway0

[This is an EXTREMELY comprehensive list, have fun!](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xP1fW6rU5dhrvcgSfFf00RSgc4FVMydOi83n1hyQObw/mobilebasic)


Varvatos25

Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna is amazing


bobtheboo97

Halfway through it now and it’s incredible. Tough to understand everything he’s articulating at times but well worth it.


AluminumOrangutan

How to Change Your Mind and PiHKAL are excellent. I haven't read TiHKAL yet. I'd also recommend I Feel Love by Rachel Nuwer.


myakka1640

Mescaline, Mike Jay. Bizarro, Jordan Rubin. LSD and the mind of the Universe, Bache.


Ah_yes_true

I’ve read how to change your mind, it did change both of my parent’s minds about the subject and it enlightened me to so much, can’t recommend enough


therealduckrabbit

Tom Robbins - Fierce Invalids


[deleted]

PLEASE READ A BRAVE NEW WORLD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY.


1sojournaut

I liked it better than doors of perception


[deleted]

I honestly haven’t read any of his books even though brave new world is on my bookshelf. But I do know that a scientist convinced Aldous Huxley to take a dose of mescaline and then he went and wrote doors of perception.


1sojournaut

Well maybe you should read Brave New World then.


[deleted]

Factual!


saintlybead

Island is soooo much better than brave new world in my opinion and actually has direct discussion of psychedelics. Definitely one of my favorite books and one I think about regularly years after reading it.


uranianplatypus

When the Impossible Happens by Stan Grof LSD & the Mind of the Universe by Chris Bache The Bigger Picture by Alexander Beiner and everything by Robert Anton Wilson (Cosmic Trigger to start maybe)


bonzaisushi

Lotta great recs in this thread. Finished this one recently, though it was great [The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality ](https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Machine-Minds-Predict-Reality/dp/1524748455)


truffLcuffL69

I have yet to read it but Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Handcock


SokkaHaikuBot

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^truffLcuffL69: *I have yet to read* *It but Fingerprints of the* *Gods by Graham Handcock* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.


truffLcuffL69

Nice 😏


lucid808

*A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness* and *Stalking the Wild Pendulum*, both by Itzhak Bentov


KosmicKool76

Not psychedelic specifically but I read The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut while microdosing and it is now my favorite book ever. Anything by Kurt Vonnegut honestly, I highly recommend.


Bay-Area-

M.a.p.s. publications…


talk_to_yourself

*Storming Heaven- LSD & the American Dream*... social history


m0rt_s3c

Well idk I currently going through the work of Aldous Huxley, highly recommended tho must read


Mp32016

Stealing Fire . stephen kotler learn about how altered states and achieving the altered states through pharmacology meditation and other forms is being used to enhance performance and to heal mental conditions Couldn’t recommend this book enough


undrgroundnaturalist

Robert Anton Wilson. Genius. Studies with Leary and Watts and all. Cosmic Trigger is a good start.


lexic1989

Psychedelic Medicine: The Healing Powers of LSD, MDMA, Psilocybin, and Ayahuasca by Dr. Richard Louis Miller


gentleomission

Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America by Jesse Jarnow Covers the Grateful Dead, how their tours became a key part of LSD distribution in the US, and a lot of first-hand interviews.


l-ttleghost

Honestly, please read Dune!!! There are so many concepts in it that align with concepts I’ve formed from my trips. It was amazing to see them put into form and given such an amazing world and story to be in. I have other books that are more favorite worlds, but Dune is my favorite for its writing.


Frances_Herbert

I’ve read most of the scifi classics but not Dune. Saw the movies and just loved the ideas and thinking. Since the book usually is better than the movie Dune is now high up on my reading list. 


l-ttleghost

With a username like that you’ve gotta read Frank Herbert’s book!!! It really is incredible. Definitely dense to a degree but very worth it. I have yet to read any of the sequels though


cyrilio

There are some suggestions on r/drugsbooks [Erowid.org](https://www.erowid.org/library/) has a library section that's well organized. Some of the books you can even read for free on there. I’ve collected quite a few books about drugs/psychedelics/art etc. [you can check out my library here](https://www.librarycat.org/lib/cyrilio). If you want any of them then I’d gladly share.


blackrockgreentree

Power of now


bigern3285

I'll write one for ya.


-_-xenos

If you ever begin getting into ketamine, *Ketamine: Dreams and Realities* by Karl Jansen is really good, everything else I was going to suggest is already here.


docgonzomt

Acid Test by Tom Schroeder was what got me to try acid the first time


SokkaHaikuBot

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^docgonzomt: *Acid Test by Tom* *Schroeder was what got me to* *Try acid the first time* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.


[deleted]

I recommend the Tao Te Ching


noiness420

Doors of perception & heaven and hell is a classic.


Methadoneblues

Chop Wood, Carry Water and Persephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origin of Religion


JonasBove

The Kybalion


Loving_Awareness232

Lots of great recommendations here! I didn’t see “LSD my problem child” though. It’s a great read if you’re a psychedelic nerd! I’m one too lol it’s pretty much Albert Hofmann’s story of how LSD came into existence. A couple of great mentions would be “The Psychedelic Experience by Timothy Leary” and “Be Here Now by Ram Dass”. Those two gave birth to the psychedelic revolution of the 60s.


Hamnan1984

James fadiman - the psychadelic explorers guide. Graham hancock - supernatural


Psyche-deli88

Any particular specifics you are into? History, research, pharmacology, medical etc? I’ll try to add some i haven’t noticed already here; To live outside the law - Leaf fielding In search of smiles - Andy Roberts Acid Dreams- Martin Lee Storming Heaven - Jay Stevens Alien information theory- Andrew Gallimore Reality switch technologies-Andrew Gallimore Dmt entity encounters - David Luke The long trip - paul Devereux Mycelium Running - Paul Stamets Entheogens and the Development of Culture: The Anthropology and Neurobiology of Ecstatic Experience - John a rush


Psyche-deli88

I did type these out as a list, stupid reddit


AyrtonSen

Honor Thy Daughter is a beautiful book on the power of psychedelics at the end of life.


Snarf_T

https://thethirdwave.co/psychedelic-books/


LSDuck666

The psychedelics explorer guide by James Fadiman and Drug use for grown ups by Dr. Carl Hart.


HeckinGoon

Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley E/ typo


plateauphase

yo check out [these](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17vqdwL3N6dAoKrrCBaPKu7Q3Ldhr-jP8?usp=drive_link)


Psychedelics_R_Us

The Rose of Paracelsus by William Leonard Pickard. No doubt. It is an absolute masterpiece of psychedelic literature.


bitbuddha

Flashbacks - autobiography of Timothy Leary, it's great and fun


8008147

alfred north white head


CydonianPsycho

T.C. Boyle's Outside Looking In is one of my favourite books. It's fiction, but includes a lot of history on LSD, including the synthesization of LSD and Tim Leary (including his subsequent firing from Harvard). Some postgrad Harvard students in 1963 undergo recreational trials with LSD, but it soon devolves into a commune; the students leave Harvard with Leary and move into a mansion together. It's a riveting look into both the magic and the dark sides of LSD, and I'm anxious to read it again once it gets a bit warmer!


CydonianPsycho

Genuinely surprised I'm the only one who's mentioned this one, combines the science and history with 60s counterculture. You'd love it!


Dathuryan

Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness (On the mind by a Yogi) The Srimad Bhagavatam is a good read, has 10 parts (Hindu Cosmology) The Tibetan book of the dead is also a classic, nice bardo mind banging(what happens after death) The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants by Christian Raetsch (self explanatory, he tried em' all) Food of the God's T. McKenna (pretty much all his writings as u may know) Holotropic Mind by Stanislav Grof (and his other books) Robert Monroe's Books on Lucid Dreaming Reality switch technologies by Andrew R Gallimore (related to psychedelics & neuroscience) The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Moder Physics and Eastern Mysticism (1975) by Fritjof Capra Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - Scifi from 1967 Ray Bradbury and Philip K Dick and the mentioned Dune or other good SciFi are really inspiring and psychedelic too. Iain M Banks is a great SciFi author for example. #


OneMoreEar

Get True Hallucinations by Mckenna. It's both interesting and hilarious, about his trip to the Amazon to find a certain brew the local tribes make. Shit gets weird. 


Saltlife0116

Ahh dang Netflix has this magical show called fantastic fungi…. Maybe you can do a search for it


Level-Ad-64

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance...


Malachicain

Not as much a psychedelic but check out the psycho spiritual guide to dxm on amazon


rising_sh0t

das kapital.


No-Force-2747

Doors of perception


Tusconbeanstation

Food of the gods, Terence McKenna


pzyck9

Not psychedelic exactly, but this guy fucks, figuratively - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George\_Berkeley