The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness [Paperback]

Alan W. Watts (Author), Timothy Leary (Foreword), Richard Alpert (Foreword)

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st edition (August 12, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394702999
• ISBN-13: 978-0394702995
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychedelic Rememberance: Ecstacies & Early Warnings, May 19, 2002

By 

James A. Green (Wichita, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness (Paperback)

This classic by Alan Watts is one of my favorite books for remembering the elevating side of the psychedelic experience. It
was sensitively written during the period when psychologists were
more optimisitic about lsd psychotherapy: after all, it gets the
patient to talking, and that is what pays, especially if the result is elevating fascination. Furthermore, many of
the effects were memorable and salutory. Of course, since those
days it has become evident that lsd-25 is not entirely foolproof, and that frequent use at unknown dosages using material of unknown quality can easily lead an explorer to a hospital where he may have to recover from an induced nervous
breakdown. The reveries of Alan Watts concerning his experiences are agreeable and have a sacred quality to them. However, Interested investigators would be well-advised to read LSD: MY PROBLEM CHILD by Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered lsd-25. This book is less sanguine, more medically realistic, and contains specific information about disagreeable effects at high dosages, information on specific toxicity, other accounts of pharmaceutical industry professionals regarding the useful
properties and post-use side-effects, scenarios for safe usage,
and so on. All that will be left is a hunt for some blessed land of freedom where men may still take lsd once in a while without the hauting side-effects of police pursuit, imprisonment, and jailhouse blues.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mind blowing joy ride, December 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness (Paperback)

The Joyous Cosomology is one of the most powerful and at the same time fun books I've ever read. It is unfortunate that it is out of print because it has much to show readers concerning the imaginative construction and deconstruction of this universe. This is perhaps Watts' most direct and creative work and it has the potential to open up many doors in the readers mind. The photography in the book is a wonderful addition and works well to spark the imagination into re-creating our perceptions of reality.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Joyous Cosmology, July 7, 2000

By 

Neil (Oregon City, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness (Paperback)

My best friend let me borrow 'The Joyous Cosmology' and I read it in 2 hours. An intellegent perspective of such things was very interesting to read because most of the time when you hear about Acid, Mescaline, and shrooms, all you hear is a bunch of incohearent praise with nothing to back it up. With a scientific understanding of it, I would feel a lot safer doing such things. A super book!