Robert Greenfield's biography of counterculture icon Timothy Leary is a tale of both a man and the history of psychedelic drugs in science, academia and, of course, American counterculture. Greenfield draws on Leary's own words, published works, police and court documents, and the accounts of his friends, family and peers to paint a vivid picture of this fascinating man.

The author is also unafraid of contradicting the published memoirs of Leary and his peers (always with solid evidence, of course).

This is a dense biography, filled with captivating anecdotes. I'm a member of the generation after Leary's, and I thoroughly enjoyed my immersion in the life and times of psychedelic drugs. Greenfield has succeeded in writing a book for both the armchair historian and the academic researcher. It concludes with a full 50 pages of endnotes and is complemented by a 30-page index.

by Jessica Lux-Baumann
Rambles.NET
19 May 2007