Tripped was SO interesting. I loved learning more about the CIA, germans, and the role of psychedelics in wartime.

*3.75
Tripped in an interesting history of LSD and its complicated legacy. One thing I found interesting, was how much the Nazi psychedelic program's search for a "truth serum" would taint the federal government's view of LSD/other psychedelics. If you don't have much knowledge of the history of psychedelics, Tripped is a great book to start with.

Tripped is a captivating journey through the labyrinthine history of LSD, shedding light on its complex legacy and raising important questions about cognitive liberty, government intervention, and the pursuit of knowledge.

How much better would the world be had it never been for the CIA?

German journalist Norman Ohler follows up "Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany with a logical continuation: LSD. Synthesized from fungus in a Swiss pharmaceutical laboratory during the darkest days of WWII, the substance was poised to change the world. In addition to expanding the mind, trials were underway to treat psychosis and addiction. Just then, those jerks in Langley got wind of it. Rather than using acid for therapeutic or consciousness-expanding, they wanted to use it for mind control or as a truth serum. When that didn't pan out, it was time to declare war on drugs. But the genie was already out of the bottle at that point. Acid evangelists distributed it to thinkers, artists, and hippies, and soon the psychedelic age was under way. Only recently has LSD (and similar drugs) been used for research purposes to treat PTSD, depression, addiction, and anxiety. As we see in the epilogue, where Ohler chronicles his mother's experiences with microdosing to treat Alzheimer's, things are promising.

It's fascinating information, and Ohler has a gift for setting the scene. Unfortunately, the book is kind of light on content. Any psychonaut worth their salt probably already knows most of what's in the book (much of the territory I already read in the phenomenal "The Most Dangerous Man in America," by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis) A big portion of the first third of the book is about the author's experiences at the Sandoz corporate archives. (Save it for the notes, not the opening chapters!) And I would have liked to know what became of some of the characters in the story, such as the ex-Gestapo agent who was hired by Americans to enforce a war on drugs in postwar Berlin, or the patsy that the CIA put in charge of Project MK ULTRA. Still, as primer about the early days, lasting legacy, and bright future of Lysergic acid diethylamide, you could do a lot worse.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advance copy of this book that looks at the history of psychedelics, their creation, use, banning of and how this substance might open minds in different ways.

People talk about space being the final frontier, some say it could be the oceans that we exploit, but still have not really explored. I personally think the final frontier is the human brain. We all have one, some use it some don't, but there are so many mysteries, so many questions, and so many dangers that can effect or affect us. Art is created, but so is sadness at existence. Technology is advanced, but many of us will slowly start losing control of our own brains, forgetting loved ones, even our own identity. Added to our own problems is that humans love to mess with minds. Drugs, drinks, even propaganda can change minds for good, for a lot of bad, and make decisions that should seem easy hard. LSD was discovered by chance, thought to be a wonder drug that could help people, but was banned by governments for making people a little too free. Only recently has LSD found to have wondrous effects on people with mental issues, and even more for those dealing with Alzheimer's. Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age by Norman Ohler is a look at the history of LSD from its creation, its expectations, and how the US government co-opted LSD into the Cold War.

Tripped begins before the creation of LSD detailing the history of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, the rise of the Nazi party, and how the Nazis went about controlling drug use in their society. Which is amusing if one has read Blitzed, Ohler's previous book on the use of methamphetamines among the German population. We meet Albert Hoffman whose work building on the medicines created by Sandoz chemical led to his accidental exposure to LSD, an how it changed his thinking and a lot of lives. After the war with the rise of the Cold War, the thoughts of being able to stop armies without having to use force, were all the rage. As was the idea of brainwashing, and getting people to spy on their countries, without knowing it. And killing people. The CIA started MK-Ultra an almost looney tunes program investigating the use of LSD on people by randomly dosing co-workers, army volunteers, patients, and strangers, who would be videotaped in CIA run houses of ill repute. Eventually this freedom of the mind was too much for the government, and was banned, even to scientists who had just started to see the potential of LSD in alcohol and chemical dependences, mental issues and more.

The problem with reading about LSD is that everything about it seems so ridiculous. The CIA dosing each other, filming LSD parties. Buying millions of doses. Timothy Leary. Albert Hoffman's magical bicycle ride. What doesn't seem ridiculous is that governments fear this kind of freedom of the mind. And also the benefits of LSD. In the last few year there has been a lot of testing on people microdosing on LSD and finding benefits for their mental conditions. And there is section in here about Ohler's own mother who is suffering from sever Alzheimer's, making a slight improvement, after Ohler presents his father with some LSD for Christmas. I did not expect to have tears in my eyes reading about LSD, but it is a touching section.

Norman Ohler is a very good writer, and a great researcher. The book reads well, and though it might jump around from his investigations today, to sections about the past, one never gets lost. In fact one gets more angry about government's fear of losing control, of all the the people who have suffered, when their pain could be eased. Ohler covers quite a lot of history, and a bit of personal history, which really gives the book an emotional edge, again that I didn't expect. Fans of Blitzed will enjoy this. One of my favorite books of the year so far.

A worthy follow-up to Blitzed, by the same author. Ohler shows how the shadow of the Nazis can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for an eARC copy of Tripped by Norman Ohler.

First off, what really drew me to this book was the cover. It was different from other books speaking about the history of psychedelic's, especially how they surrounded the Third Reich in the 40's prior to the work that began in the United States in the 50's. Even thought I did not know Norman Ohler had a book prior to this, I now know that I really need to find and read it, as I feel like I missed a few things. But, he does a good job with speaking about LSD and Switzerland, leading into its usage within the United States government.

A fantastic, compelling, thoroughly researched read. Readers will undoubtedly come away with tons of new information.

Norman Ohler's "Tripped" is a continuation of the work he started in Blitzed, following the history of drugs stemming from the actions of the Third Reich. This time, the drug in question is LSD and the country of origin is Switzerland. Ohler tracks the history of the drug, its uses by American intelligence, why its illegal today (hint - see the statement in the previous comma), and the benefits that could be right there, especially for the growing Alzheimer's population.

My thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy.