Ic) Reviews

Terence McKenna Bibliography

This compilation is © 2000–2010 Chris Mays & 2022-2023 Kevin Whitesides.
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Reviews

  • Tripping (2000) (3)

  • Andrew O’Hehir (2001) Tripping: An anthology of true-life psychedelic adventures. The Oxford American no. 38 Mar/Apr, ISSN: 1074-4525. [Review of Tripping] Illustrator: Peter Spacek; pp. 135; Positive review of Tripping, the “undisputed highlight” of which is the extended interview with McKenna.
  • Mike Tribby (2000) Tripping. Booklist Vol: 97 no. 6 Nov 15, ISSN: 0006-7385. [Review of Tripping (2000)] pp. 590; Positive review of Tripping (2000). The interview with McKenna is described as “fitting”. “For seriously treating what is often characterised as nihilistic and destructive entertainment, the book deserves its place in the literature of psychoactive substances.”

 

  • Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In (1999) (1)

  • Jon Hanna (1999) Timothy Leary: outside looking in. Entheogen Review Vol: 8 no. 3 ISSN: 1066-1913. [Review of Timothy Leary: outside looking in] pp. 120-121; Hanna gives a positive review of this Leary festschrift, but without mentioning McKenna’s contribution.

 

 

 

  • Robert Venosa: Illuminatus (1999) (1)

  • Richard T. Carey (2000) Illuminated Manuscript: Robert Venosa’s Illuminatus. MAPS: Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Vol: 10 no. 3 Fall, “Psychedelics and Creativity.” Editor: Sylvia Thyssen and Jon Hanna; Illustrator: Robert Venosa; pp. 28-29;

 

  • Sacred Mushrooms and the Law, 2nd edition (1997) (1)

  • Harley Barnhart (1998) Sacred mushrooms and the law. Mushroom: The journal of wild mushrooming Vol: 16 no. 4 Fall #61, ISSN: 0740-8161. [Review of Sacred mushrooms & the law] pp. 34-35; Favorable review of Boire’s book Sacred mushrooms & the law, although McKenna’s foreword is labelled “rancorous and contumacious”.

 

  • The Flight Into Egypt (1995) (1)

  • Scott Veale (1995) Nowhere Land. New York Times Dec 31, p. 11, Late Edition. ISSN: 0362-4331. [Review of The Flight into Egypt: Binding the Book (1995)] Mixed review of Ely’s pictorial work based on his grandfather’s travel journal. Veale declares McKenna’s Foreword “entertaining” and “stuffed with New Age blarney”.

 

  • The Hemp Revolution (1995) (3)

  • Desson Howe (1996) Film Capsules. Washington Post Mar 22, p. N41, Final Edition. ISSN: 0190-8286.
  • Peter Stack (1995) Everybody Must Get Hemp, Film Suggests. San Francisco Chronicle Nov 29, p. C1, Final Edition.

  • John Hartl (1995) Anti-reefer madness: the case for hemp. Seattle Times Nov 17, p. F6, Final Edition. ISSN: 0745-9696.

 

  • Surfing on Finnegans Wake (1995) (1)

  • Anon (1995) Surfing on Finnegans Wake and Riding Range with Marshall McCluhan. Publishers Weekly Vol: 242 no. 36 Sep 4, ISSN: 0000-0019. [Review of Surfing on Finnegan’s wake] pp. 32-33;

 

  • Metamorphosis: A Trialogue on Chaos and the World Soul (1995) (2)

  • Stephen Rees (1996) Metamorphosis: A trialogue on chaos and the world soul. Video Librarian Vol: 11 no. 1 ISSN: 0887-6851. [Review of Metamorphosis] pp. 16; A review of Metamorphosis (1995) recommending it only for “think tanks and university libraries”.

 

 

 

  • Manual of Evasion LX94 (1994) (1)

  • Anon (1997) LX94 Manual of Evasion. Head Magazine no. 8 ISSN: 1359-2815. [Review of Manual of evazion] pp. 15; Regretful negative review of Pêra’s Manual of evazion: “It kind of degenerates into the McKenna roadshow…”

 

  • Global Perspectives and Psychedelic Poetics (1994) (1)

  • Barbara J. Vaughan (1995) Global Perspectives and Psychedelic Poets [sic] by Terence McKenna. Library Journal Vol: 120 no. 2 Feb 1, ISSN: 0363-0277. [Review of Global perspectives and psychedelic poetics] pp. 115; Generally positive review of Global perspectives and psychedelic poetics. “[H]is arguments are provocative, incisive, and not without a scholarly base. He should be heard by experts in fields involved in studying psychoactive drugs”.

 

  • Mavericks of the Mind (1993) (1)

  • Fred Smith (1993) Mavericks of the Mind. Psychedelic Illuminations no. 5 [Review of Mavericks of the mind] pp. 69-70;

 

 

 

 

 

  • Randy Pitman (1994) Alien Dreamtime. Video Librarian Vol: 9 no. 3 May-Jun, ISSN: 0887-6851. [Review of Alien Dreamtime] pp. 26; Generally positive review of Alien Dreamtime: “Older acid freaks will probably love this, …”.

  • Richard Kadrey (1994) Alien Dreamtime. Whole Earth Review no. 82 Spring, ISSN: 0749-5056. [Review of Alien Dreamtime (Video, 1993)] pp. 106; A positive review: “A sure delight for Deadheads, psychedelic shock troops, UFO mutants, technoids and New Agers of all persuasions.”
  • Eric Gladstone (1994) Terence McKenna’s rave new world. AP (Alternative Press) Vol: 8 no. 68 Mar, ISSN: 1065-1667. pp. 90; Review of Alien Dreamtime.

  • Catherine Applefeld (1994) Video Previews: Performance. Billboard Vol: 106 no. 4 Jan 22, ISSN: 0006-2510. [Review of Alien Dreamtime] pp. 70; A negative review of Alien Dreamtime that refers to McKenna (unnamed) as a “sniveling little man who throws out empty sound bites” whose “delivery is enough to scare Timothy Leary straight”.

 

  • The Invisible Landscape (1993) (0)

  • No reviews currently listed

 

  • True Hallucinations (1993) (10)

  • Howard L. Rheingold (1994) True hallucinations. Whole Earth Review no. 82 Spring, ISSN: 0749-5056. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 107; Positive review of True hallucinations, followed by an excerpt where Dennis McKenna telephones his mother in 1953 from the jungle in 1971.
  • Tom Hodgkinson (1994) Fungus freaks. New Statesman & Society Vol: 7 no. 309 Jul 1, ISSN: 0954-2361. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 37-38; Snickering review of True hallucinations. “For any grown-up dreamer whose youth was clouded with tales of mystery and adventure but is now intrigued by the revelatory promises of drug-taking—and there are a lot of them around—the book is a dream come true.”
  • Scott Thomas (1993) In the Amazon, tour guides for a journey of the mind. Buffalo News May 2, p. 7, Sunday, Final Edition. ISSN: 0006-2510. The reviewer may be somewhat agape, but the review of True hallucinations (1993) is open-minded, and takes the story at face value.

  • Genevieve Stuttaford (1993) True hallucinations. Publishers Weekly Vol: 240 no. 15 Apr 12, ISSN: 0000-0019. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 52; A mixed review by a bewildered reviewer. “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”.
  • Donna Seaman (1993) True hallucinations. Booklist Vol: 89 Mar 15, ISSN: 0006-7385. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 1277;
  • Eric Hinsdale (1993) Anthropology & customs — True hallucinations by Terence McKenna. Library Journal Vol: 118 no. 6 Apr 1, ISSN: 0363-0277. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 109; Generally negative review of True hallucinations. “Pseudoscientific ramblings concerning the nature of time serve only to move this book farther out toward the fringes”.

  • Jordan Gruber (1993) Stalking the elusive Oo-Koo-Hé. Gnosis: a journal of the Western inner traditions no. 28 Summer, “One God or Many?” ISSN: 0894-6159. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 80-81;

  • Dennis Drabelle (1993) Far out and in deep. Book world Vol: 23 no. 24 Jun 13, ISSN: 0006-7369. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 9;

  • Vicki Cooper (1993) True hallucinations. UFO: A forum on extraordinary theories and phenomena Vol: 8 no. 4 ISSN: 1043-1233. [Review of True hallucinations] Editor: Vicki Cooper and U. F. O. Psychedelic; pp. 37-38;

  • Peter Conrad (1993) Arcadia: Last of the head trips. New York Times Book Review Jun 6, p. A1, ISSN: 0028-7806. [Review of True hallucinations] A negative review. “This [obsidian liquid] sounds to me like moonshine, and I suffered hallucinogenic agonies of my own while reading his shrilly ecstatic prose”.

 

  • Trialogues at the Edge of the West (1992) (5)

  • Timothy O’Neill (1993) Trialogues at the edge of the West. Small Press no. 11 Spring, ISSN: 0000-0485. [Review of Trialogues at the edge of the west] pp. 70;
  • Allan Combs (1993) Trialogues at the Edge of the West. World Futures Vol: 38 no. 4 Dec, ISSN: 0260-4027. [Review of Trialogues at the edge of the west] pp. 256-257; Positive review of Trialogues at the edge of the west: “We owe a debt of thanks to these three highly original individuals for allowing us to eavesdrop in this fertile and unedited (chaotic) stage of the creation of ideas”.

  • Food of the Gods (1992) (18)

  • Kirsten Bonde (1995) Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge. Anthropology of Consciousness Vol: 6 no. 1 Mar, ISSN: 1053-4202. [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 35-36;
  • Robert Anton Wilson (1994) Chaos and beyond: The best of Trajectories. The Permanent Press, San Jose CA. ISBN: 1886404003. Wilson collects essays from his Trajectories magazine, including his review of Food of the gods: Book Previews (1991).  LibraryThing.
  • Rick Strassman (1993) Food of the Gods. Network: The Scientific and Medical Network Newsletter no. 53 Dec, [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 58-59; A sympathetic review of Food of the gods by a leading DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) researcher. Strassman is critical of McKenna’s drug biases and unscientific exposition—“a romantic collection of essays”—but more to warn uninitiated scientist readers than to discourage readers generally.
  • Alfonso Montouri (1993) Food of the Gods. World Futures Vol: 37 no. 4 Aug, ISSN: 0260-4027. [Review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival] pp. 211-212; A sympathetic review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival: “[T]he point is not even so much if he is right or wrong, but the kind of bizarre and fascinating connections he makes which open up worlds of creativity and imagination for the reader”.
  • Katherine Diehl (1993) Food of the Gods // The Archaic Revival. Body Mind Spirit Magazine Vol: 12 no. 1 Feb 28, ISSN: 0895-7657. [Review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival] pp. 66;
  • Anon (1993) Food of the Gods. Through the Looking Glass (Freakbeat Supplement) no. 8 Apr 19, [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 25;
  • Fred Smith (1992) Food of the Gods: a recipe for the mind. Psychedelic Illuminations no. 3 [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 52-53;

  • Donna Seaman (1992) Food of the Gods. Booklist Jan 1, ISSN: 0006-7385. [Review of Food of the gods] pp.
  • Howard L. Rheingold (1992) Food of the Gods & Experiment at Petaluma. Whole Earth Review no. 74 Spring, ISSN: 0749-5056. [Review of Food of the gods and Experiment at Petaluma] pp. 60-61; Positive review of Food of the gods that takes the common position that McKenna’s theories are best understood as myths: “McKenna is a writer and encyclopedic interdisciplinary scholar, and a swashbuckling psychedelic ethnobotanist, but I believe he is primarily a bard.” Also includes one-sentence description of Experiment at Petaluma, and an excerpt from Food of the Gods.
  • Alex Raksin (1992) Food of the Gods. Los Angeles Times Feb 23, p. 6, Sunday, Home Edition. ISSN: 0458-3035. [Review of Food of the gods]
  • Ryan J. Huxtable (1992) The mushrooming brain. Nature no. 356 ISSN: 0028-0836. [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 635-636; Relentless dismissal of Food of the gods and the stoned ape theory, without being a wholly negative review. “If anything, Food of the Gods is poetry disguised in the language of science,” and, ““…perhaps the arguments in this book are no more meant to be taken literally than any other creation story”.
  • Eric Hinsdale (1992) Social Science — Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge by Terence McKenna. Library Journal Vol: 117 no. 3 Feb 15, ISSN: 0363-0277. [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 188; Generally negative review of Food of the gods. “The author’s disdain for the scientific approach and reliance on spiritualism obscures some worthwhile insights on the irrational intolerance of drugs in our society”.
  • Jordan Gruber (1992) Return of native wisdom. Gnosis: a journal of the Western inner traditions no. 24 Summer, “Saints & Scoundrels.” ISSN: 0894-6159. [Review of Food of the gods] pp. 61-62;
  • Lucy Fisher (1992) Paradise lost and found. Times Aug 15, p. ISSN: 0307-661X. [Review of Food of the gods].
  • Robert Anton Wilson (1991) Book Previews. Trajectories no. 10 Fall, [Review of In pursuit of Valis and Food of the gods] pp. 8-12; Positive reviews of In pursuit of Valis, The Eagle’s Quest and Food of the gods. Includes excerpts of all three. Wilson does not mention McKenna’s afterword to In pursuit of VALIS. Refering to Food of the Gods, Wilson says: “What McKenna has produced will shake all the social sciences like no book of our century.”
  • Anon (1991) Food of the Gods. Kirkus Reviews Dec 15, ISSN: 0042-6598. [Review of Food of the gods] pp.

 

  • The Archaic Revival (1991) (4)

  • Alfonso Montouri (1993) Food of the Gods. World Futures Vol: 37 no. 4 Aug, ISSN: 0260-4027. [Review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival] pp. 211-212; A sympathetic review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival: “[T]he point is not even so much if he is right or wrong, but the kind of bizarre and fascinating connections he makes which open up worlds of creativity and imagination for the reader”.
  • Katherine Diehl (1993) Food of the Gods // The Archaic Revival. Body Mind Spirit Magazine Vol: 12 no. 1 Feb 28, ISSN: 0895-7657. [Review of Food of the gods and The archaic revival] pp. 66;
  • Gail Wood (1992) Parapsychology — The Archaic Revival by Terence McKenna. Library Journal Vol: 117 no. 7 Apr 15, ISSN: 0363-0277. [Review of The archaic revival] pp. 110; Positive review of The archaic revival. “The ideas presented in this collection of interviews, speeches, and articles are radical even now, and will challenge the reader”.
  • Penny Kaganoff (1992) The Archaic Revival. Publishers Weekly Vol: 239 no. 19 Apr 20, ISSN: 0000-0019. [Review of The archaic revival] Illustrator: Satty; pp. 48-49;

  • In Pursuit of Valis (1991) (2)

  • John Shirley (1992) Zapped by the Great Pink Beam. Gnosis: a journal of the Western inner traditions no. 23 Spring, “Gnosticism Revisited.” ISSN: 0894-6159. [Review of In pursuit of Valis] pp. 70-71; Mixed review of In pursuit of Valis. “The dismaying attempts by Sutin and McKenna to vindicate the sadder side of Dick’s visions weaken the book for me”.
  • Robert Anton Wilson (1991) Book Previews. Trajectories no. 10 Fall, [Review of In pursuit of Valis and Food of the gods] pp. 8-12; Positive reviews of In pursuit of Valis, The Eagle’s Quest and Food of the gods. Includes excerpts of all three. Wilson does not mention McKenna’s afterword to In pursuit of VALIS. Refering to Food of the Gods, Wilson says: “What McKenna has produced will shake all the social sciences like no book of our century.”

 

  • The Experiment at Petaluma (1990) (2)

  • Nick West (1990) The experiment at Petaluma. Magical Blend no. 27 Jul, ISSN: 1073-5879. [Review of Experiment at Petaluma] pp. 79-80; An enthusiastic review of Experiment at Petaluma, “an amazing visual and audio rendition of Terence McKenna’s lastest thinking on psychedelics, visual [sic] reality, and ‘visible language.’” West notes that this kind of media object is “baby’s first visible words” in the language McKenna anticipates.
  • Howard L. Rheingold (1992) Food of the Gods & Experiment at Petaluma. Whole Earth Review no. 74 Spring, ISSN: 0749-5056. [Review of Food of the gods and Experiment at Petaluma] pp. 60-61; Positive review of Food of the gods that takes the common position that McKenna’s theories are best understood as myths: “McKenna is a writer and encyclopedic interdisciplinary scholar, and a swashbuckling psychedelic ethnobotanist, but I believe he is primarily a bard.” Also includes one-sentence description of Experiment at Petaluma, and an excerpt from Food of the Gods.

 

  • History Ends in Green (1990) (2)

  • Katherine Diehl (1993) History Ends In Green. Body Mind Spirit Magazine Vol: 12 no. 6 ISSN: 0895-7657. [Review of History ends in green] pp. 57-58;

  • Barbara Valle (1992) History Ends in Green: Gaia, Psychedelics, and the Archaic Revival by Terence McKenna. Library Journal Vol: 117 no. 21 Dec, ISSN: 0363-0277. [Review of History ends in green] pp. 212;

 

  • The Sacred Mushroom Seeker (1990) (2)

  • Anon (1993) The Sacred Mushroom Seeker. Through the Looking Glass (Freakbeat Supplement) no. 8 Apr 19, [Review of The sacred mushroom seeker] pp. 25;
  • Ted Schultz (1990) Tributes to a magical mycophile. Gnosis: a journal of the Western inner traditions no. 17 Fall, “Sex & Spirituality.” ISSN: 0894-6159. [Review of The sacred mushroom seeker] pp. 70,72;

  • Stanley Krippner (1990) The Sacred Mushroom Seeker. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: A Multidisciplinary Forum vol. 22 no. 3, July-September, ISSN: 0279-1072. [Review of The sacred mushroom seeker] pp. 375-376; “Terence McKenna discusses Wasson’s literary precursors, such as Lewis Carroll…”

 

  • Gateway to Inner Space (1989) (1)

  • Richard Allen (1990) Gateway to inner space. Through the Looking Glass (Freakbeat Supplement) no. 7 Nov, [Review of Gateway to inner space] pp. 18;

  • True Hallucinations: Talking Book (1984) (3)

  • David Ciaffardini (1992) True hallucinations. Sound Choice no. 17 ISSN: 8756-8176. [Review of True hallucinations] Illustrator: Michael Roden; pp. 48-49; An very enthusiastic review of the audiobook True hallucinations, followed by extensive excerpts. “[T]he narrative is masterful, with a gothic tone of scientific and spiritual mystery and revelation that is a match for the best adventure story-telling of Edgar Allen Poe”.
  • Ted Schultz (1985) Amazonian psychoactives. Gnosis: a journal of the Western inner traditions no. 1 Fall/Winter, “Gnosticism Ancient & Modern.” ISSN: 0894-6159. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 44;

  • Richard Dobson (1985) True hallucinations (alien intelligence and psilocybin). Shaman’s Drum: a journal of experiential Shamanism no. 1 Summer, ISSN: 0887-8897. [Review of True hallucinations] pp. 38;

 

  • Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide (1976) (1)

  • Jonathan Ott (1976) Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide. High Times #12, August; p. 93. Ott reviews Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide (1976). “the authors state that in publishing this book they have ‘braved ridicule to become the first to suggest the extraterrestrial origin of Stropharia cubensis.’ Indeed, they have invited ridicule by advancing this absurd hypothesis; it detracts greatly from an otherwise useful book… This technique may potentially revolutionize dope dealing in the United States.”

 

  • The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens & the I Ching (1975) (2)

  • Gary Stimeling (1976) The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching. High Times #12, August; p. 93. Stimeling reviews The Invisible Landscape (1975). “Its scope is the entire universe, and its purpose is to redefine the underlying assumptions science makes about space, time, matter, energy, and perception.”

 

  • Marjorie Schuman (1976) A psychedelic odyssey into the genetic code, I Ching. Brain/Mind Bulletin Vol. 1 No. 12, May 3; p. 4. “Their ultimate hypothesis…is farfetched to say the least. Still, we may remind ourselves humbly that truth has often seemed bizarre. ‘The Invisible Landscape’ is worth reading for those who, like the McKennas, are fascinated by psychedelics, interested in science and receptive to far-out theories.”

 


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