True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise [Paperback]

Terence McKenna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1994

This mesmerizing, surreal account of the bizarre adventures of Terence McKenna, his brother Dennis, and a small band of their friends, is a wild ride of exotic experience and scientific inquiry. Exploring the Amazon Basin in search of mythical shamanic hallucinogens, they encounter a host of unusual characters -- including a mushroom, a flying saucer, pirate Mantids from outer space, an appearance by James and Nora Joyce in the guise of poultry, and translinguistic matter -- and discover the missing link in the development of human consciousness and language.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1971 ethnobotanist McKenna ( The Archaic Revival ), his brother Dennis and three friends boated to a town in Amazonian Colombia, seeking a hallucinogenic plant that enables the Witoto tribe to talk to elf-like "little men." In psychedelicized ravings interspersed with diary excerpts, McKenna records their experiences after ingesting mind-altering mushrooms and other psychoactive plants. A flying saucer slowly flew over McKenna's head; he calls it a "holographic mirage" of a future technology. Dennis had a revelation about a "psychofluid" that pervades the universe. McKenna flashes forward to Hawaii in 1975 where mantis-like creatures from hyperspace attack his lover, and flashes back to his tantric lovemaking in Tibet and to Indonesia where unrepentant Nazi scientists tried to recruit him in 1970. He posits the existence of a particle of time, the chronon , which conditions matter. A bizarre book.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Unlike McKenna's last book, the preposterous Food of the Gods ( LJ 2/15/92), this work is more an adventure story than an anthropological treatise. It is the chronicle of the author's 1971 trip to the Amazon jungle in search of secret tribal hallucinogens. While his band of hippie adventurers never do find the fabled hallucinogen "oo-koo-he," they do manage to ingest an incredible amount of native psilocybin mushrooms, which trigger mystical and psychic experiences. It is hard to accept McKenna's conclusion that something unexplainable really did happen in the Amazon. Instead, his book reads like an account of an especially chaotic drug experience. Pseudoscientific ramblings concerning the nature of time serve only to move this book farther out toward the fringes. McKenna's story will be of interest to certain subcultures, but the appeal will not extend to most general readers. An optional purchase for public libraries.
- Eric Hinsdale, Trinity Univ. Lib., San Antonio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (April 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062506528
• ISBN-13: 978-0062506528
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining, March 26, 2003

By 

Ross James Browne (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise (Paperback)

This book is an adventurer's tale; a gripping account of the harrowing experiences of a group of hippie thrill-seekers. This book is a real page-turner. It reads like a good novel, and there is never a dull moment. It is simply a blow-by-blow account of the author's drug-induced experiences in the Amazon jungle, a cross between an episode of National Geographic Explorer and an article out of High Times. Some Terence Mckenna enthusiasts might be somewhat dissapointed, however, because _True Hallucinations_ is not a potent philosophical work like his other books. It is not an attempt to root out the meaning of existence or discover the origins of the universe, but is instead just an entertaining romp through the jungle. Also an update: Dennis McKenna is alive and well and has been actively researching ethnopharmacology for 40 years. His writings have been published in scientific journals and his latest ideas are available on youtube and other internet sites and blogs. This is to correct and retract my earlier assertion that he somehow experienced bad side effects as a result of his research.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opening experience, June 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise (Paperback)

This book was a spiritual eye-opener. I now look at society, mushrooms, and the world from a completely different perspective. I read the book aloud to my wife, and Terence McKenna's prose filled the room with as much weight as the little voices in your head. A remarkable read from a remarkable man. We actually passed this book on to a friend who was interested, and are moving on to another of McKenna's books as well as a spoken-word/music CD. Highly recommended to anyone with an open mind and the ability to question ones own reality (just remember that you create your own reality).

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny and Provocative, May 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise (Paperback)

Even if Mckenna didn't have the remarkable theories (whether you believe them or not) to go along with his adventures, this would remain a great read. Mckenna has an exemplary control of the language and his wit is untouchable. Of the three books by him I have read, this remains my favorite, and I think it is the one most suited for the non-specialist. One of my favorite books.