The History of Acid Tripping: How LSD Changed America - Paperback

by Eric Hurtado (Author)

From the accidental discovery in a Swiss laboratory to the neon-soaked summers of the 1960s and the modern renaissance of clinical research, History of Acid Tripping by Eric Hurtado offers a definitive exploration of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD).

This isn't just a timeline of dates; it is a deep dive into how a single chemical compound reshaped Western culture, philosophy, and science. Hurtado meticulously traces the transformation of "acid" from a top-secret tool of government mind-control experiments to the catalyst of a global counterculture movement.

In this comprehensive history, you will discover:

The Sandoz Years: The strange story of Albert Hofmann's "problem child" and its early medical applications.

Cold War Shadows: The dark reality of MK Ultra and the attempts to weaponize the psychedelic experience.

The Cultural Explosion: How figures like Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey, and the Grateful Dead turned a lab chemical into a social revolution.

The Modern Revival: The shift from "Turn on, tune in, drop out" to the contemporary era of micro-dosing and breakthrough psychedelic therapy.

Combining rigorous research with narrative flair, Eric Hurtado examines the profound impact of the psychedelic experience on art, technology, and the human search for meaning.

Author Biography

Eric Hurtado is a Historian and graduate of California State University Dominguez Hills.