Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the acclaimed author of over 20 popular books, Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves serves up a smorgasbord of subjects designed to bend reality and stretch the reader's mind. Musing over everything from humanity’s place in the universe to movie closing credits, Clifford A. Pickover contemplates such topics as fugu sushi, zombies, French writer Marcel Proust (not to mention cartoon guides to Proust), parallel universes, hallucinogenic worms, religious states, uncommon psychiatric disorders, Albert Einstein, shamanist Terence McKenna, Burning Man, the business of book publishing (including famous rejected books), quantum theory, and the humming toadfish, whose incessant underwater droning at a perfect A-flat was a mystery for years. Complete with illustrations, Pickover's book entertains, informs, and invites his readers — old and new — to test their powers of lateral thinking and to see the world in a fresh way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Smart Publications (September 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890572179
• ISBN-13: 978-1890572174
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,137 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange and rewarding!, August 19, 2005

By	M. Nandor (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cliff Pickover's view of himself and his life are displayed in a simple, straightforward, crazy, twisty manner in this very original book. We get glimpses of Pickover's musings about language and words while at the same time learning about how other "unleash" their minds to have visions on DMT and LSD.

But don't let that scare you off, O anti-drug proponents. I consider myself to be one of the most rigid anti-drug nuts that I know, and I'm a huge prude as well. But let it be said here that Pickover never advocates drug use, but only describes the common, nearly Jungian archetypical visions that people have while high on certain hallucinogens. Very factual - it doesn't push either side of the envelope.

And it is well worth going against whatever apprehensions you might have. I learned a lot from this book, from the philological to the philosophical. The only problem with the book is how to explain it! So many topics are covered, and yet they are all held together by the thread-that-is-Pickover. A great read for anyone interested in expanding his mind (by reading).

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trip Beyond the Ordinary, July 30, 2005

By	Bill H. Joyce (Ormond Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

I've read 90% of the book and felt that I just had to make a comment here. This book seems to be a wonderful departure from Pickover's other works in that it is part memoir. It also gives Pickover's opinions on various segments of culture and science. He discusses our perception of reality, which can be altered in various ways by reading Proust or by various chemical enhancements.

This is certainly a creative approach! He even has a wonderful "practical" chapter on the challenges of book publishing in which he discusses the route this unusual book took to getting published.

Here are some other topics: parallel universes, brain disorders, New York literary agents, strange Bibles, and the wisdom of Holiday-Inn founder Kemmons Wilson. Read the book, and pump up the neurons in your mind.

Here is the Table of Contents:

1. On Fugu Sushi and Transdimensional Reality Worms
2. The Quantum Mechanics of Hopi Indians
3. Bertrand Russell's Twenty Favorite Words
4. DMT, Moses, and The Quest For Transcendence
5. Brain Syndromes Open Portals to Parallel Universes
6. From Holiday Inn to the Head of Christ
7. The Business of Book Publishing: Unplugged, Up Close, & Personal
8. Neoreality and the Quest for Transcendence
9. Oh God, Einstein's Brain and Eyes are Missing
10. Burning Man and the Conquest of Reality

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eclectic and fascinating, September 12, 2005

By	B. F. Tallmadge "Confused Philosopher" (Vermont) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow, I should leave my review at just that one word, WOW.

This book is a unique gem. There is simply nothing else that is even remotely like this book. Pickover takes you on a tour of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, DMT, parallel universes, quantum immortality, and Marcel Proust; just to name a few of the diverse and disparate topics he touches on. A comprehensive bibliography allows the reader to undertake a more detailed exploration of the topics he or she finds the most interesting. This creates a slight problem, as everything mentioned in this book is fascinating beyond belief.

Sex, Drugs, Einstein and Elves makes no hard assertions. It is left to you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions and form your own opinions. After reading this you will never look at the world in quite the same way.

Pickover's book is eminently readable. No background in science or math is needed to appreciate and enjoy this book, just an open and curious mind.