Autorentext

Albert Hofmann (1906 - 2008) was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including LSD: My Problem Child: Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science. In 2007, Hofmann was named #1 out of 100 in Telegraph magazine’s 2007 ‘Top 100 Living Geniuses’ list, and in 2022 his pioneering work with LSD was featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary series “How to Change Your Mind.”

Klappentext

LSD My Problem Child is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father and organic chemist, the late Albert Hofmann, PhD.

Credited with synthesizing and discovering the psychedelic effects of LSD, Hofmann traces the path of the drug from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. 

In LSD: My Problem Child, Dr. Hofmann documents his trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD and shares correspondences with notable figures including Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Walter Vogt. The underlying current of this book is Dr. Hofmann’s powerful conclusion that mystical experiences may be our planet’s best hope for survival. Whether induced by LSD, meditation, or arising spontaneously, such experiences help us to comprehend, as Hofmann wrote, “the wonder, the mystery of the divine, in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people.” 

More than sixty years after the birth of Albert Hofmann’s problem child, his vision of its true potential is reaching relevancy as psychedelics enjoy a new resurgence in popular discourse. In 2022, Hofmann’s pioneering work was featured in the Netflix documentary series, “How to Change Your Mind.”

Zusammenfassung
This is the story of LSD told by a concerned yet hopeful father, organic chemist Albert Hofmann, Ph.D. He traces LSD's path from a promising psychiatric research medicine to a recreational drug sparking hysteria and prohibition. In LSD: My Problem Child, we follow Dr. Hofmann's trek across Mexico to discover sacred plants related to LSD, and listen in as he corresponds with other notable figures about his remarkable discovery. Underlying it all is Dr. Hofmann's powerful conclusion that mystical experiences may be our planet's best hope for survival. Whether induced by LSD, meditation, or arising spontaneously, such experiences help us to comprehend "the wonder, the mystery of the divine, in the microcosm of the atom, in the macrocosm of the spiral nebula, in the seeds of plants, in the body and soul of people." More than sixty years after the birth of Albert Hofmann's problem child, his vision of its true potential is more relevant, and more needed, than ever.

Inhalt

Note from the Publisher

Live of Albert Hofmann

Foreword by Stanislav Grof, MD

Preface by the author

Translator’s preface

Introduction

How LSD Originated

LSD in Animal Experiments and Biological Research

Chemical Modifications of LSD

Use of LSD in Psychiatry

From Remedy to Inebriant

[Color plates follow page 88]

The Mexican Relatives of LSD

Radiance from Ernst Jünger

Meeting with Aldous Huxley

Correspondence with Walter Vogt

Various Visitors

LSD Experiences and Reality

Appendix: The Digital Hofmann Collection

Index

About the Publisher