The Sacred Mushroom Seeker: Tributes to R. Gordon Wasson »

Edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger, who has written extensively on psychedelic plants and psychology, The Sacred Mushroom Seeker includes essays by the most distinguished names in the fields of ethnobotany, comparative religion, and anthropology.

A celebration of the life and pioneering work of the eminent mycologist and scholar R. Gordon Wasson.

A legendary figure in the field of ethnobotany, R. Gordon Wasson's trail-blazing work on hallucinogenic mushrooms with the Mexican curandera Maria Sabina in the 1950s brought increased scholarly attention to the importance of psychoactive plants in the spiritual life of indigenous peoples and had a profound influence well beyond the academic world. His accessible writings helped popularize these discoveries, forming the ground for the social revolution of the following decade. With the growing interest in the role of psychoactive plants in society today, the work of R. Gordon Wasson and the example set by the man himself, so well illustrated here, takes on increasing importance.

Edited by Thomas J. Riedlinger, who has written extensively on psychedelic plants and psychology, The Sacred Mushroom Seeker includes essays by the most distinguished names in the fields of ethnobotany, comparative religion, and anthropology.

The Bookwatch

"R. Gordon Wasson's work on hallucinogenic mushrooms sparked the psychedelic movement: this varied collection includes contributions in the field of ethnobotany, comparative religion, and anthropology and offers a tribute to Wasson's research through new contemplations."

Preface
Thomas J. Riedlinger

Foreword
Richard Evan Schultes

R. Gordon Wasson: Brief Biography and Personal Appreciation
J. Christopher Brown

Wasson's Help to a Student of Drug History
Michael R. Aldrich

My Life With Gordon Wasson
Masha Wasson Britten

A Vote for Gordon Wasson
Michael D. Coe

A Bibliophile's View of Gordon Wasson's Books and Bookplates
Robert Demarest

'Somatic' Memories of Gordon Wasson
Wendy Doniger

R. Gordon Wasson: The Poet of Ethnomycology
William A. Emboden

'Vistas Beyond the Horizons of this Life': Encounters with R. Gordon Wasson
Peter T. Furst

Wasson and the Development of Mycology in Mexico
Gaston Guzman

The Mushroom Conspiracy
Joan Halifax

Ride Through the Sierra Mazateca in Search of the Magic Plant 'Ska Maria Pastora'
Albert Hofmann

Collecting Wasson
Michael Horowitz

Remembrances of Things Past
Irmgard Weitlaner Johnson

The People of Miniss Kitigan Who Were and Are Honor the Spirit of WaussungNaabe Who Was and Is
KeewaydinoQuayEt Al

My Friend Gordon
Weston Le Barre

Mixe Concepts and Uses of Entheogenic Mushrooms
Frank J. Lipp

'The Banquet of his Interests'
Bernard Lowy

Wasson's Literary Precursors
Terence McKenna

A Posthumous 'Encounter' with R. Gordon Wasson
Claudio Narjano

A Twentieth Century Darwin
Jonathan Ott

Recollections of R. Gordon Wasson's: 'Friend and Photographer'
Allan B. Richardson

A Latecomer's View of R. Gordon Wasson
Thomas J. Riedlinger

Mr. Wasson and the Greeks
Carl A. P. Ruck

Celebrating Gordon Wasson
Alexander T. Sulgin

Travels with R. Gordon Wasson in Mexico, 1956-1962
Guy-Stresser-Péan

Appendix I. Gordon Wasson's Account of His Childhood
R. Gordon Wasson

Appendix II. Bibliography: R. Gordon Wasson and Valentia Pavlovna Wasson
J. Christopher Brown

Appendix III. The R. Gordon Wasson Ethnomycological Studies Series

Index

Contributors