Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom

"Even if read while sober, Andy Lechter's Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom, is a near-transcendent experience." -New York Times Book Review

Since its rediscovery only fifty years ago, the magic mushroom: a hallucinogenic fungus once shunned in the West as the most pernicious of poisons, has inspired a plethora of folktales and urban legends. In this timely and definitive study, Andy Letcher chronicles the history of the magic mushroom—from its use by the Aztecs of Central America and the tribes of Siberia through to the present day—stripping away the myths and taking a critical and humorous look at the drug's more recent manifestations.

Informative, lively, and impeccably researched, Shroom is a unique and engaging exploration of this most extraordinary of psychedelics.

Is Santa Claus really a magic mushroom in disguise? Was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland a thinly veiled psychedelic mushroom odyssey? Did mushroom tea kick-start ancient Greek philosophy?

Much stranger than the fictions it has inspired, the world of the magic mushroom is a place where shamans and hippies rub shoulders with psychiatrists, poets and international bankers. The magic mushroom was rediscovered only fifty years ago but has accumulated all sorts of folktales and urban legends along the way. In this timely and definitive study, Andy Letcher strips away the myths to get at the true story of how hallucinogenic mushrooms, once shunned in the West as the most pernicious of poisons, came to be the illicit drug of choice.

Chronicling the history of the magic mushroom, from its use by the Aztecs of Central America and the tribes of Siberia through to the present day, Letcher takes a critical and humorous look at the drug's more recent manifestations. Since the 1970s scientists and others in major Western nations, the United States and the United Kingdom in particular, have identified hundreds of hallucinogenic species, isolated their active ingredients, learned how to cultivate them on an industrial scale, and spread them around the world. More than any other civilization that has come before us, and despite all the myths we have built, we, by all rights, are the true magic mushroom enthusiasts.

Informative, lively and impeccably researched, Shroom presents a unique and engaging study of this most extraordinary of psychedelic drugs.

“Andy Letcher has cut through a dense tangle of pseudohistory and urban legend with bracing skepticism, clearing the space for an elegant and authoritative telling of the true story that it conceals…We, and not our prehistoric ancestors, are the true ‘mushroom people.’” - The Independent on Sunday

“Elegant and authoritative” - The Independent on Sunday

“Engaging…A meticulously researched history...Letcher is both historian and hippie, and he sees so much in mushrooms to examine, question and celebrate that it becomes a thrilling trip that is both erudite and greatly entertaining. Mind bending stuff.” - The Scotsman on Sunday

“An extraordinary account...With its easy style and witty handling of scientific analysis, it makes a fascinating and satisfying read.” - The Observer

“An intelligent and well-researched book...Full of surprises.” - The Guardian

“Intensely enjoyable” - The First Post

“But mystical, frightening or mind-mushing drug experiences are not necessary for relishing Andy Letcher’s engrossing story of hallucinogenic mushrooms and the cultural history that has build up around them.” - Seattle Times

“Shroom, by Andy Letcher, is that most wondrous of finds…” “…Letcher does not disappoint in dishing up the tastiest mushroom morsels modern research can unearth…this book has the best a fungophile could hope for: New stuff.” “Shroom is definitely the new must-have book for all students of modern mycology. It makes everything that has come before it look like a fairy tale.” - dosenation.com

“Letcher…uses humor and scholarly insight to write about how mushrooms moved from ritualistic staple to the drug of choice during the “psychedelic revolution” of the 1960s. Groovy.” - Tampa Tribune

‘Shelf Life’ column, What’s new at the bookstores - Asbury Park Press

“If you, like me, prefer your shrooms without the New Age baggage, Andy Letcher’s book is for you.” “… witty, entertaining and surprising…” - Washington Times

“A timely, much needed work, Shroom will surely intoxicate trippers past, present and future. Liberty Caps off then to Andy Letcher for steering such a wise path through this garden of earthly delights.” - Strange Attractor

“An exuberant, approving account of psilocybin and its kin for those of us living in what debut author Letcher calls “the Mushroom Age.” - Kirkus Reviews

“[Shroom is] Pretty much essential for popular recreational-drug-use book collections.” - Booklist

“[H]ighly accessible and amusing . . . thought-provoking . . . extensively researched and engaging.” - Library Journal

“Even if read while sober, Andy Letcher’s “Shrooms: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom,” is a near-transcendent experience. Well written and thoughtfully researched, the book works on the limbic system too: after reading it, one is tempted to hit the streets in search of a religious-experience-in-a-fungus. Letcher has contributed a delightful, journalistic addition to the genre known as trip lit.” - New York Times Book Review

In his first book, freelance writer, lecturer, and musician Letcher, who holds doctorates in both religious studies and ecology, examines the history and use of hallucinogenic—or “magic”—mushrooms since ancient times. Letcher’s passion for his subject clearly comes through; his writing style is highly accessible and amusing, and the material he presents is thought-provoking...Extensively researched and engaging. - Library Journal