Acid Dreams by Bruce Shlain, Martin A. Lee (1985, Book, Illustrated)

Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond... first published in 1985 and revised in 1992, by journalist and author Martin A. Lee and author Bruce Shlain is a fascinating and wild account of the history of LSD in America. The implications of this journalistic history are startling in that they show the role of the CIA and the government of the United States in creating much of the LSD culture that grew up during the Sixties. The history of LSD in the United States is a fascinating one, and the creation of a drug culture in the Sixties as well as the links between this culture and the hippies, the New Left, and the anti-war movement offers much interesting material. But, lurking behind the whole thing is the nefarious role of the CIA and the government, originally in testing out these drugs in a series of unethical experiments and later in possibly manipulating the very culture that arose from their newfound prevalence itself. This is a fascinating story and one that should be told particularly in light of the complex relationship that has always existed between the drug culture and the state. This book offers an interesting study on the Sixties and the drug culture focusing around LSD that emerged out of this decade. This book offers a good examination of a troubled era and some of the hopes of people in that era that were ultimately manipulated by larger forces! PEACE!