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The Invisible Landscape. Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching
McKENNA, Terence K. & Dennis J.
The Invisible Landscape. Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching
New York: The Seabury Press, 1975
8vo., original blue publisher’s cloth, spine lettered in gilt; together in the neatly-clipped pictorial dustwrapper, featuring a jacket design by Susan Gebel, a cover photo by Glen Heller, and a photograph of both authors to the lower panel by Roberto Morrison; pp. [vi], vii-ix, [iv], 4-242; with numerous reproduced charts and tables throughout; a near-fine copy, lightly rubbed at spine ends and corners, with some pencil markings now erased from ffep, but aside from the odd tiny spot otherwise clean; the very good dustwrapper lightly rubbed and nicked to spine tips and ends of folds; lower panel with some shelf darkening; retaining much of its original brightness; some brown stains to verso.
First edition of the psychonaut's first book, co-written with his brother Dennis. This copy nicely inscribed by McKenna to the title page, “Chris - / Navigation of the Invisible / world made easy. Happy trails! / Terence McKenna / Mar ‘91”.
It was in 1970 that Terence and his brother Dennis first traveled into the Amazonian jungle to find oo-koo-hé, the plant containing DMT. McKenna had been aware of the uses of magic mushrooms since his early teens, and had studied shamanism throughout his time at University. After graduation he traveled in Asia, seeking out shamans who could teach him more about the uses of visionary plants. It was after his mother died of cancer that he and Dennis began to explore the Columbian jungle, but instead of DMT they found fields full of hallucinogenic mushrooms, which then became their sole focus. In a series of tests undertaken in La Chorrera, the brothers ingested a series of psychedelics, predominantly psilocybin mushrooms and Ayahuasca, and this work chronicles their resulting findings, which combine subatomic theory with Jungian psychology and metaphysical speculation. Through the use of vocal techniques, they attempted to combine psychedelics with the atomic particles in the brain in an attempt to access the collective consciousness of the entirety of human history. While under the influence of these drugs, McKenna also encountered what he termed ‘Logos’ - a divine voice which he referred to as ‘the mushroom’. Upon returning to Berkeley, the McKenna brothers began to cultivate psilocybin mushrooms at home, and in 1976 they published another book explaining the process, entitled Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, under the pseudonyms ‘O.T. Oss’ and ‘O.N. Oeric’.
A technical work which covers subjects as diverse as schizophrenia, holographic thought, the Timewave hypothesis (including numerous graphs and figures) and the prediction of the eschaton (the coming of the end of the world), The Invisible Landscape remains an important and groundbreaking work on the effects of hallucinogens on the human mind. McKenna went on to become known as the ‘Timothy Leary of the '90s’, and a cult figure who advocated for the responsible use of natural psychedelics for the majority of his life. In particular, he is remembered today for his ‘stoned ape’ theory, which postulated that it was the ingestion of magic mushrooms which led to the leap in human consciousness, and the evolutionary catalyst from which all of human culture sprang.
One of the nicest examples this bookseller has seen, together with a lengthy inscription.
McKENNA, Terence K. & Dennis J.
The Invisible Landscape. Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching
New York: The Seabury Press, 1975
8vo., original blue publisher’s cloth, spine lettered in gilt; together in the neatly-clipped pictorial dustwrapper, featuring a jacket design by Susan Gebel, a cover photo by Glen Heller, and a photograph of both authors to the lower panel by Roberto Morrison; pp. [vi], vii-ix, [iv], 4-242; with numerous reproduced charts and tables throughout; a near-fine copy, lightly rubbed at spine ends and corners, with some pencil markings now erased from ffep, but aside from the odd tiny spot otherwise clean; the very good dustwrapper lightly rubbed and nicked to spine tips and ends of folds; lower panel with some shelf darkening; retaining much of its original brightness; some brown stains to verso.
First edition of the psychonaut's first book, co-written with his brother Dennis. This copy nicely inscribed by McKenna to the title page, “Chris - / Navigation of the Invisible / world made easy. Happy trails! / Terence McKenna / Mar ‘91”.
It was in 1970 that Terence and his brother Dennis first traveled into the Amazonian jungle to find oo-koo-hé, the plant containing DMT. McKenna had been aware of the uses of magic mushrooms since his early teens, and had studied shamanism throughout his time at University. After graduation he traveled in Asia, seeking out shamans who could teach him more about the uses of visionary plants. It was after his mother died of cancer that he and Dennis began to explore the Columbian jungle, but instead of DMT they found fields full of hallucinogenic mushrooms, which then became their sole focus. In a series of tests undertaken in La Chorrera, the brothers ingested a series of psychedelics, predominantly psilocybin mushrooms and Ayahuasca, and this work chronicles their resulting findings, which combine subatomic theory with Jungian psychology and metaphysical speculation. Through the use of vocal techniques, they attempted to combine psychedelics with the atomic particles in the brain in an attempt to access the collective consciousness of the entirety of human history. While under the influence of these drugs, McKenna also encountered what he termed ‘Logos’ - a divine voice which he referred to as ‘the mushroom’. Upon returning to Berkeley, the McKenna brothers began to cultivate psilocybin mushrooms at home, and in 1976 they published another book explaining the process, entitled Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, under the pseudonyms ‘O.T. Oss’ and ‘O.N. Oeric’.
A technical work which covers subjects as diverse as schizophrenia, holographic thought, the Timewave hypothesis (including numerous graphs and figures) and the prediction of the eschaton (the coming of the end of the world), The Invisible Landscape remains an important and groundbreaking work on the effects of hallucinogens on the human mind. McKenna went on to become known as the ‘Timothy Leary of the '90s’, and a cult figure who advocated for the responsible use of natural psychedelics for the majority of his life. In particular, he is remembered today for his ‘stoned ape’ theory, which postulated that it was the ingestion of magic mushrooms which led to the leap in human consciousness, and the evolutionary catalyst from which all of human culture sprang.
One of the nicest examples this bookseller has seen, together with a lengthy inscription.