Out of It by Stuart Walton (2002, Hardcover)

British writer, Stuart Walton states in "Out of It", his 2002 comprehensive study on drugs, that "Intoxication is a universal human theme". The book examines practically all the world's known intoxicants from coffee and tobacco to methamphetamines and LSD, both individually and comparatively, giving an extensive historical analysis of each. This includes esoteric herbs used by ancient religious cults, as well as potent compounds in use by present day primitive societies.

Although the book is objective in presentation, the author draws some conclusions from the research that go against the prevailing attitudes in today's societies. He believes that drugs are as necessary to mankind as food and water, that in fact, they are a "biological imperative". That the repression of drugs has been one of the major problems in almost every society throughout history gives evidence to this.

The book is full of interesting anecdotes and theories which make it especially readable. One theory speculates that early Man attained consciousness by ingesting hallucinatory mushrooms on the plains of Africa. This does not seem surprising in light of mankind's continued dependence upon drugs for altering one's consciousness.