‘An original and thrilling investigation into psychedelics and the claims that currently surround them, achieving profound insights’ Mike Jay, author of Psychonauts

Psychedelics have made a comeback, but the truth is they remain a mystery. In this daring, profound and wildly entertaining investigation, clinical neuropsychologist Andy Mitchell tests the claims being made for these substances by taking ten different psychedelics in ten different settings.

Journeying from a neuroimaging lab in London to the Colombian Amazon via Silicon Valley and his friend’s basement kitchen, his encounters with scientists and gangsters, venture capitalists and con men, psychonauts and shamans, and above all with the drugs themselves, take us beyond the hype and reveal the reality of psychedelics in all their strangeness, darkness and wonder.

‘Canny and somewhat sceptical . . . rigorous and penetrating . . . This is a wonderful book, a journey into the nature and potential of consciousness itself’ Literary Review

'An incisive, deeply personal and beautifully written account of the power, the uses and the modern misuses of psychedelics. Highly recommended' Anil Seth, author of Being You

‘Utterly compelling. Some books are in a category of their own and this is one them. Reading it is like having an out of body experience’ Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters

‘Superb . . . brilliant’ TLS

"A collection of tales from the far frontiers of psychedelic experience . . . superb . . . brilliant" - TLS

"Canny and somewhat sceptical ... rigorous and penetrating ... illuminating ... this is a wonderful book, a journey into the nature and potential of consciousness itself, and of life on this troubled and monopolised planet" - Literary Review

"Philosophical and darkly humorous ... for all the mystical experiences [psychedelics] afford, divesting them of their shadow side does seekers a disservice, Mitchell holds" - Spectator

"A powerful reminder that psychedelics can’t be made sense of entirely within a framework of chemical interactions in the brain. We need to view them as something potent, to be respected" - New Scientist