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This Is Your Mind on Plants
- Opium - Caffeine - Mescaline
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
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This Is Your Mind on Plants
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Of all the many things humans rely on plants for, surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate, calm, or completely alter the qualities of our mental experience. In This Is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan explores three very different drugs - opium, caffeine and mescaline - and throws the fundamental strangeness of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs, while consuming (or in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants and the equally powerful taboos.
In a unique blend of history, science, memoir and reportage, Pollan shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively. In doing so, he proves that there is much more to say about these plants than simply debating their regulation, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. This groundbreaking and singular book holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds and our entanglement with the natural world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jim Vaughan
- 12-11-21
Unexpected Perspectives
I enjoyed this book as much as “How to Change Your Mind”, in its thoughtful and unusual take on the dangers of being raided by a SWAT team and the DEA for having poppies in your garden, Caffeine as the psychoactive stimulus for the Enlightenment, and the healing that Peyote has brought to Native American culture, and the re-traumatising threat of the cacti’s extinction by white psychonauts.
Pollen makes a powerful case against the counterproductive blunt instrument of the “War on Drugs”, as well as the traumatic damage our insensitivity to the cultural appropriation of the sacraments of ancient cultures can cause.
I also love books read by the author, and his first hand subjective experiences of the effects of these plants is related with wit and insight.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ThatPersonOverThere
- 20-08-21
Gripping as ever
I'm a true Pollan fan and this book did not disappoint. a fascinating read I could barely put down and got through quickly. I was surprised and shocked though at his frequent reference to "American Indians" a term I understood to be considered racist now.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ferdinand
- 10-09-22
Absolutely Loved - funny, intriguing and informative
Open minded and nuanced dive into three different plants and our relationships. Especially regarding the mix of cultural heritage, political and economical interests and individual lives.
Loved the authors narration and pacing and can’t wait to listen to his other books.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Mr M P Winder
- 09-08-21
great book
another great book from Pollan. The book is in 3 sections opium, caffine, mescaline. These are the only subjects of the book but explored in depth with the usual Pollan story telling making it easy to read / listen to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Joseph
- 23-07-21
Another fascinating and educational book by my nee favourite author
Again Michael Pollan writes and edicates in such an educational yet gripping way. Not only did I find this an interesting read, but it will shape my future relationship with caffeine and other plant derived mind altering substances
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- Anand Kothari
- 11-01-22
Fantastic
A fantastic and interesting book - learnt so many new things. The parts on caffeine and mescaline were great - amazing to see how they have affected our lives! The narrator was also excellent.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- GW
- 21-01-22
A welcome amble through plant medicines
Glad this book is out there, demystifying and encouraging others to think about the fictional line that separates drugs.
I enjoyed the flurry of history but certainly could have gone deeper. Thankfully the author recommends books throughout to continue reading.
Overall a quick enjoyable read for both the interested party and regular medicine taker.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- LC
- 07-08-22
Interesting and enjoyable
I enjoyed this book, and found it educational, as I have also with his other books.
I found the stories interesting and entertaining too.
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- Gemma Herbertson
- 04-12-22
Humour in neuroscience
Great story telling - bringing science to life (and sometimes the spiritual 'beyond'). Loved this book. Thank you.
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- labart
- 21-02-23
Well written in typical Pollan style
Well written and engaging. I very much enjoyed the book and felt it would a fun book to read with interesting anecdotes. However, although entertaining, it was not transcendental.
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