The Sacred Mushroom Seeker

Tributes to R. Gordon Wasson.

A legendary figure in the field of ethnobotany, R. Gordon Wasson's trailblazing work on hallucinogenic mushrooms was one of the catalysts of the psychedelic movement. His work with the Mexican curandera Maria Sabina in the fifties brought increased scholarly attention to the importance of psychoactive plants in the spiritual life of indigenous peoples and had a profound influence well beyond the academic world. His accessible writings helped popularize these discoveries, laying the groundwork for the social revolution of the following decade, as well as the current interest in the role psychoactive plants can play in society.

Edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger, who has written extensively on psychedelic plants and psychology, 'The Sacred Mushroom Seeker' includes essays by many of the most distinguished names in the fields of ethnobotany, comparative religion, and anthropology. Among its many contributors are Richard Evans Schultes, Professor of Biology at Harvard and director of the Harvard Botanical Museum; Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD and retired director of the Sandoz Pharmaceutical Laboratories of Basel, Switzerland; Peter T. Furst, author of 'Flesh of the Gods'; Terrence MCKenna, author of 'Food of the Gods' and 'Archaic Revival'; Michael Coe , Professor of Anthroplogy at Yale and Curator of Anthroplogy at Yale's Peabody Museum; and Joan Halifax, founderof The Ojai Foundation and author of 'The Fruitful Darkness'.