Structure

The book’s central point of study - the history, consequences, and value of experimentation with psychedelic drugs – is broken down into a series of chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of that central point. Chapter 1 outlines the origins and consequences of what Pollan identifies as a “renaissance,” or rebirth, of interest in psychedelics; Chapter 2 focuses on the history of, and experiences related to, one particular source of psychedelic drugs; Chapter 3 focuses on a more in-depth consideration of the history of institutionalized / formal study of psychedelics; Chapter 4 focuses on Pollan’s personal experience with psychedelics; and so on.

There are thematic, narrative, and personal elements that link all the various chapters: ideas related to the nature of consciousness; considerations of the value of objective research into an experience that is by nature fundamentally subjective; and personal commentary from Pollan. Ultimately, though, these linking considerations become secondary...