Terence McKenna needs no introduction. He is a well-known philosopher, ethnobotanist, psychonaut, visionary — a man who sincerely believes that psychedelics created humanity and will lead it to the formation of a humane society living in harmony with the planet.

Drawing on a vast factual base from many fields of science, religion, and mythology, McKenna unfolds a colossal historical panorama of the social evolution of Homo sapiens, commenting on it from the perspective of humans’ adoption of ever-new hallucinogens and narcotics. The author genuinely believes in the coming of ultimate harmony for our civilization, which will be ensured by the responsible use of psychedelics.

“The long night of human history is coming to an end. Silence is poured into the air, the east is suffused with the pink blush of dawn. … The story of the foolish ape is now over and will never continue again. We are destined to turn from the past without regret, to look into the faces of ourselves, our parents, our beloveds and our children, to pack our toolkits for the road, to take our animals and old, old dreams with us, so we can travel the ghostly landscape of deep awareness. Let us hope that where we have always felt most comfortable (above all, within ourselves) we will find glory and triumph, discovering the meaning of a game of unbridled imagination, luxuriating in the expanses of a newly found paradise.”

For a wide general readership.