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REVIEWS

Press notices and testimonials are presented on this page, the former, including those from Websites, are posted below in chronological order. The following publications have run reviews or citations of Tripping, quoted here in varying measures: Publishers Weekly, The Lancet, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Journal of Drug Education and Awareness, San Francisco Chronicle, Elle, Oxford American, Flaunt, Booklist, Library Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican, Boulder Weekly, Chronicle of Higher Education, Magical Blend, Entheos, The Entheogen Review, Trip (formerly TRP), Weed World, Soft Secrets (Holland), Relix, Bizarre, Morbid Curiosity, Heads, Island Views, Block Island Times (Rhode Island), The Daily Cardinal  (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Michigan Daily (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), Daily Bruin (University of California, Los Angeles), 34th Street Magazine, Daily Pennsylvanian (University of Pennsylvania), Daily Illini (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana), Campus Press (University of Colorado, Boulder), Daily Advocate (University of Colorado, Denver), Daily Barometer (Corvallis, Oregon), State Press Magazine (Arizona State University), and The Daily (University of Washington, Seattle), as have the following Websites: The Vaults of Erowid, Uskonontutkja Religonsforskaren (Finland), Curled Up With a Good Book, Hippyland, Babylon Travel Magazine, Magellan's Log, Albert Hofmann Foundation, Community of One Love (Coolove.org) Website, and Drugwar.com. After the press notices, testimonials are presented in roughly chronological order.

PRESS NOTICES

"....Each of these stories is well written, and the entire volume is put together by Hayes in such a way as to allow the “happy” stories to counter-balance the heavy stuff. The true grace of this book, though, becomes evident once the reader starts to see that the people sharing these stories have all been intrinsically changed by the psychedelic experience. We are allowed to see the moments in these lives where a decision was made, a direction chosen, a path started, that makes these people who they are today. For the vast majority, it was positive; for a few, hellish. But for a good number, it was not only life-changing, but life-saving. On the whole, this nicely balanced compendium of psychedelic experiences is a must-have for anyone truly interested in the power of psychedelic compounds and their ability to alter the course of a broad spectrum of lives in our society today." --  The Vaults of Erowid (Website), May 9, 2005

"Wild colors. Weird sounds. Sensations of the presence of the divine. An acute feeling of the presence of a demon. The range of altered states of consciousness covers a gamut as wide and varied as the people who have taken LSD, DMT or any of the other psychedelic substances. And all those experiences are here, in Charles Hayes’ eye-opening, wonderful, and lovingly edited anthology....." -- Brian Charles Clark in Curled Up With a Good Book (Website) posted October 31, 2004

"...a classic in the growing body of contemporary psychedelic literature....For the experienced, Tripping is a harvest of inspiring moments and a reminiscence of one's own deeply shape-shifting journeys. For the uninitiated, it is a profound glimpse into the hidden world of the subconscious and a provocation for wider acceptance of the usefulness of psychedelic states." -- Allan Hunt Badiner, author of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics , in Journal of Drug Education and Awareness #2, available May 2004

"...a really broad spectrum of accounts....It's a really interesting and informative book that every politician should be made to sit down and read....brings the memories flooding back...Well worth a read." -- Weed World #45 (UK), available June 2003

Tripping probes psyches and souls
It is the opinion of Charles Hayes, author and proponent of responsible psychedelic experimentation that "there are now even more compelling reasons to sanction the practice of judicious psychedelic use." Posed with the question of drug use in the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hayes recently offered this insight to Tikkun magazine, a progressive periodical focusing on Jewish culture and politics.
In his new book Tripping, Hayes exposes the significant emotional impacts psychedelics have offered to myriad persons from all walks of life. From this great range of perspectives, influenced by various psychotropic drugs, comes the recognition that psychedelics play a much greater role in society than what they are accredited with. What is even more impressive is that most of the authors are now successful, respectable members of society; this aspect of the book helps to dismantle some of the stigmas surrounding misunderstood drugs such as LSD and psilocybin (the active psychedelic agent found in "magic mushrooms").
All of the narratives found within Hayes' anthology are delightfully eloquent. An abundance of literature has spawned from the annals of the drug culture; much of this material fails to draw considerable notice, generally due to a cheaper, hastily conceived approach. However, Tripping proves to be an exception to this standard, with each story more endearing and appreciable than the last. Also interesting is the inclusion of brief background sketches of each writer; describing their occupation, place of birth and current residence allows readers to grow more attached to the speakers, thus drawing more value from the real trip accounts.
Particularly wonderful is "A Blink of Rabbit Fur," a story by a Scottish woman residing in Southeast Asia. The narrative details an unexpected but deeply meaningful first taste of mature sexuality under the influence of Ecstasy. The account is particularly fascinating because it tenderly articulates the mentality of a female teen while exploring the effects of MDMA on interpersonal experiences. Also captivating is an experience reported by "Carl," a biochemistry PhD. raised in the American Southwest. Discussing his experience on peyote in the canyons of Arizona, the story is profoundly philosophical, deeply probing perception, reality and happiness.
Along with 48 other, similarly entertaining stories is a transcribed conversation with the late Terrence McKenna, a celebrated shamanologist, scholar and spokesperson for the psychedelic experience. The dialogue includes McKenna's theories about psychedelics throughout time as well as fascinating discussions about the dissolution of consciousness while under the influence of powerful psychoactive.
Although Tripping does sometimes romanticize the experiences, a distinct stress on personal responsibility is maintained throughout the book. Not all of the reports are pleasant -some are, in fact extremely frightening - yet they are valuable. The book simply seeks to educate people about the possibilities that psychedelics can potentially offer those who are prudent and strong enough to experiment with them. Hayes made clear his individualistic stance on psychedelics, saying in an interview, "I don't advocate the use of psychedelics. I advocate their being made accessible to those who could benefit from them."
What ultimate emerges from his Tripping is non-technical education about the nature of many commonly used hallucinogens and empathogens. The book is compiled exceptionally well, making for an entertaining and valuable read. And it certainly lives up to Hayes' own statement at the conclusion of his preface: "If dreams conjured in sleep should have any meaning for those awakened by them, then these (stories) gathered here, spun out of some keen yet alien wakefulness, might have even more." -- Neal Pais, The Michigan Daily, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 5, 2002

"....This collection of psychedelic traveler's tales definitely stands out....As a profile of popular or underground psychedelic culture, this is solid gold." -- Thomas Lyttle, Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Volume 1, Number 2, March 2002

"....From feeling like they've had their soul ripped in half, to feeling like the universe was imploding on their doorstep, Tripping...has it all...." -- Henry Windridge, 34th Street Magazine, Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania, January 17, 2002

"...The anticipation, psychedelic hallucinations, the peak experience, the psychodrama, the adventures, the crash, the retained awareness afterwards are all described in Charles Hayes' new book....with an excellent interview with Terence McKenna....With people like John Perry Barlow and Robert Charles Wilson contributing their insights, it makes for a great read....I recommend this book as a valuable addition to the psychedelic literature, , thanks to the variety of such detailed first-hand accounts of trips. The reflective nature of these accounts, reaching back through so many years of psychedelic experience and abstinence cannot help but put such deeply affective journeys in perspective, and perhaps for a new generation, provide a larger context for them to pursue and integrate their own psychedelic inquires." -- Skip Stone, Hippyland Website , January 2002

Charles Hayes' new book, Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures, offers a happy medium between two extremes in the drug literature world: technical jargon and personal odyssey. 
Included in the anthology are a number of resources, including an interview with recently deceased drug culture scion Terrence McKenna and Hayes' own personal history of hallucinogens.
Even those not particularly interested in the history of drug culture might want to see some of the more contemporary connections between hallucinogens and pop-culture, including the hallucinatory quality of eating LSD and alcohol consumption in such Disney classics as "Fantasia" and "Dumbo."
Hayes also draws parallels between the hallucinogenic drug culture and the evolution of computers and the Internet within the last 30 years, claiming in his "Cultural History" that Bob Wallace, an early developer in the Microsoft team and co-creator of Shareware, says the concept is "psychedelically inspired."
Tripping is the latest of an ongoing torrent of literature that has been released for as long as hallucinogens have been around.
Hayes avoids the pitfalls of primarily focusing on the technical aspect of the drug culture and spouting scientific names for every substance, and avoids making his experience so interpersonal that it cannot be read by anyone but himself.
A book that has influenced Hayes' Tripping is Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception, Huxley's personal account of a series of experiences with mescaline, a hallucinogen with qualities similar to a small dose of LSD.
"I think it's an amazing book. There's more to it than just the clinical trip report," Hayes said. "He's drawing from his knowledge about the realm of archetypes and religion, psychosis, and he's really tapping into the eternal verities in that book."
Another book of acclaim that Hayes referred to in the genesis of his own is "PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story," by Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin and his wife Ann.
"He's nicknamed 'The Godfather of MDMA,'" Hayes said. Shulgin, a former Dow scientist, is considered responsible by many for bringing MDMA into the world of the psychotherapeutic community.
"He's kind of an august character in the psychedelic community" Hayes said.
Using hallucinogenic drugs as a form of therapy is not an entirely foreign idea to the UCLA campus. Dr. Charles S. Grob, a psychology professor at UCLA, has contributed to a number of scientific journals with articles that discuss the positive aspects of such therapy. Grob has also leant his support to the significance of Hayes' book.
Hayes shares Grob's theory that certain hallucinogens can help in a therapeutic manner, going so far as to claim hallucinogens had a lot to do with ending the conflict in Vietnam.
"Going overseas and killing a bunch of Vietnamese is going to seem utterly absurd on an acid trip. It seems absurd without it, but you know, try that while tripping and it's not going to make any sense," Hayes said. "It sounds trite, but ... psychedelics work for people to break down patterns of association and involuntary reflexes mentally and physically."
On top of great support within the hallucinogenic community, Hayes has another selling angle for the book: a Web site. His use of the electronic medium seems fitting, in that the Internet operates with the desired universal connectedness for which many who experiment with hallucinogens strive.
The site Hayes has set up in order to push the book operates as a great advertisement for the anthology, but also stands alone as a well of information for anyone interested in the history of hallucinogens (http://www.psychedelicadventures.com).
Along with a general overview of the book, Hayes includes on the site a smattering of the 50 experiences documented in the book. Collected by Hayes from around the world over the last four years, the anthology varies by drug taken, age of the participant and quality of the experience.
"Esteem" is another variable in the collection. Although most experiences are attributed to anonymous sources, some are attributed to accomplished authors, like Anne Waldman, in her "Point and Click: Icons in the window to the ancestral manse."
In her experience, she recounts a familiar moment while tripping on LSD.
"I visualized, witnessed and encountered every person I'd ever known," Waldman said in an excerpt. "Even some with whom I've had only remote contact, in a sort of rainbow gathering or holy convocation that brought my own personal world together."
Of course, not all experiences are so easy to handle. Hayes made a point to collect genuine fulfilling experiences and juxtaposed them with the infrequent, albeit dangerous, bad trip.
"The Orgasm Death Dance," an experience described by Jason, known in the book by only his first name, outlines his time at the National Rainbow Gathering in July, 1983.
"As soon as I left the circle, I was crushed with fatigue and confusion. I sat down and looked at my body and was shocked at how scrawny and weak it appeared. I felt naked and devoid of energy and wanted to cover up right away."
He then recalls slipping further down the descent into shame and self-loathing, "I've never experienced such a dramatic loss of joy and plunged so rapidly into the depths of mental and physical exhaustion and self-estrangement."
So if readers are interested in a trip without dealing with the legality issue or to being overwhelmed by too much information, Hayes is quick to offer the experiences documented in his book.
"That's the fun thing," he said. "You can trip without doing the illegal drugs." -- Christopher Cobb, Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles, January 14, 2002 

"....Tripping is the kind of book that a thousand tie-dyed undergrads have planned to write. The premise of the book—50 people's accounts of their hallucinogenic experiences—is an idea that has probably sprouted at a thousand parties, only to be tossed out with the bongwater the next morning. But Hayes has done it, and done it with surprisingly interesting results.
These aren't your father's drug-induced journeys. There's refreshingly little oohing and aahing over melting walls and alleged apparitions, and the annoying one-upsmanship that often distorts tales of psychedelic experience is, for the most part, nowhere to be found in Tripping. Instead, we get honest, literarily accomplished accounts, whose voices are genuine, and whose tales range from the horrifying to the hilarious, but rarely seem overblown or boastful. Hayes chose the fifty accounts from a pool of 120 interviews gathered over two trips around the world, and chose the included accounts "for dramatic and literary value." Such discretion is evident in the stories, all of which are written, not recorded, and the majority of which employ unique and interesting styles to tell their tales. The voices are wide-ranging: Professors, authors, doctors, journalists, and executives all chime in. Even the sort of people you'd expect to find—like Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow—offer intelligent, engaging narratives, without any of the prune-eyed giggling that usually accompanies such stories.
Because every Baby Boomer would have us believe that they spent their days hitching between free music fests in love-powered Bugs, Hayes pulls an expert editorial move: He ignores that big pack of liars born in the fifties. While there are plenty of middle-aged people in the book, none of them try to bluff about hanging out with Hendrix or living at the Hog Farm. They tell the awkward, embarrassing truth. The most charming stories are those of awkward adolescence—like the boy who climbed a water tower and was too frightened to climb down, or the one who panicked so hard that he sought refuge in the house of a neighboring hippie couple....
The Christmas season is upon us, and while better psychedelic gifts can be smuggled in a pair of tight briefs, Charles Hayes's Tripping is an engaging, legal foray into the world of hallucinogenics—with no risk of getting spilled." -- Tom Mularz, Daily Illini, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, December 6, 2001

"Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures, edited by Charles Hayes, would be a good read even if it had nothing going for it besides the conversation with Terence McKenna at the end. And it has a lot more going for it than that.
Meant as an anthology of accounts by psychedelic adventurers, Tripping documents a wide variety of drug experiences ranging from the awe inspiring to the truly awful and the simply bizarre. And the most satisfying thing: Hayes does it without glamorizing drugs in any way. It would be a lie to claim that psychedelic drugs are not portrayed positively but, most often, it is an honest and informative portrayal.
Hayes' introductory chapters are wonderfully interesting and do much to convey the significance of psychedelic drugs in a historical context. He effectively gets rid of the popular notion that psychedelics originated in the 1960s and disappeared in the 1970s. The "rude splash" that psychedelics made in the 1960s — blamed mostly on the "puerile jingoism and shenanigans" of Timothy Leary — is shown to be merely a small part of its long, strange, and ongoing history.
With 50 true-life stories to choose from by men and women from different cultures and diverse educational backgrounds, most readers are likely to find at least a couple that will appeal to them. Hayes traveled the world collecting the narratives, which include experiences of university professors, farmers, musicians, computer engineers, a librarian, and even a priest.
Whether the reader is a psychedelic traveler himself or is merely seeking to experience the psychedelic world vicariously, this book is intellectually stimulating as well as exciting. It is refreshing to forget the anti-drug propaganda for a while and hear from people who have actually experienced "boundary dissolving" psychedelics.
Many of the stories are simply entertaining, while many are even moving. In fact, in most cases, it seems that whatever the narrator experienced, the lesson learned was more memorable and important than the experience itself. In the words of one of the narrators, "They don't show you all this up here just to destroy you on the way down."
Tripping does not neglect to warn about the pitfalls of drug use. Terence McKenna admits that people become screwed up on psychedelics all the time. "The real problem is the wannabe, the person who isn't really interested in psychedelics," McKenna writes, "but all his friends are, so he takes some and gets anxious and has a panic attack."
This book does a lot to dispel the common image of the panicked acid dropper and to differentiate between drug abuse and responsible, even productive, drug use.
While this is a very informative and useful book that charts the history of psychedelics from the ancient world to the present popularity of the rave culture, it is hard to see what kind of significance it will actually have overall. After all, there are already those who have a fixed view against drug use of any kind, be it recreational or medicinal.
And then there are those who will see the word "tripping," be drawn to the trippy cover design, and pick it up, only to lose patience with the book's intellectualization of getting "a buzz, man." Hopefully, those in between — the adventurous as well as the intellectually curious — will spend some time reading about the true and profound implications of the psychedelic experience.
There will always be trippers, even without Hayes' contribution. At the very worst, Hayes' book will be largely unheeded by most would-be trippers. At the very best, it will produce a future generation of responsible trippers who will help banish the tarnished reputation of psychedelics from the public mind." -- Rajani Thapa, Daily Advocate, University of Colorado, Denver, December 5, 2001

"Psychedelic stories told honestly...Tripping manages to cast away the taboo barriers that would confine a debate...It is at once informative, eye-opening, cautionary and objective. The stories are presented with a precise appreciation for detail and an unbiased look at all the different types of trips. ...Hayes manages to lift the veil on a a hidden world and reveal everything from astonishing daydreams to horrendous nightmares...." -- Ben Schultz, The Daily Cardinal, University of Wisconsin, Madison, December 4, 2001

"...intense, vivid and captivating. The accounts are greatly detailed, and the power of each individual voice makes for a gripping read....Hayes has expertly captured emotions ranging from ecstasy to despair in a book filled with 50 individuals' entrancing stories...." -- Hanh Tran, Campus Press, University of Colorado, Boulder, November 29, 2001

"...The introduction is a vastly researched history of psychotropic drugs that gives an appropriate background to showcase the narratives. Hayes has a broad understanding of the subject, which is obvious from his dense essays. The narratives do a decent job of showcasing the bad as much as the good...." --- Patrick Salmon, The Daily, University of Washington, Seattle, November 29, 2001 

"'I was charged with indecent exposure and told to see a psychiatrist for six months.' Here are the voyages of the Starship Psychonaut; recollections from the respectable middle classes, the youthful Ravy Davys and a handful of authors. Their travellers' tales form a fascinating guide in every aspect of the psychedelic experience: in turns informative, exhilarating and truly embarrassing." -- Bizarre, Issue 53, December 2001

"Charles Hayes has brought together a mind-blowing collection of first-person psychonautical voyages...Hayes is a gifted writer whose edgy style accurately conveys the various nuances of the psychedelic experience without being overblown. The book's introduction provides the appropriate historical nods, while showcasing Hayes's exhaustive knowledge and understanding of the topic, and exposing the cutting-edge of current underground drug culture....While those narratives that relate the good times which psychedelics can provide are certainly plentiful, I suspect that the 'bad' and the 'ugly' descriptions are even more abundant. Hayes is aware that psychedelic use is not a bed or roses, and the book could certainly be read as a cautionary tale, rather than being something that promotes the use of psychedelics....The tales from [Clark] Heinrich are worth the price of the book on their own...[A] lengthy interview with Terence McKenna...is one of the most detailed hard-hitting interviews of Terence I have ever seen...The book also features...beautiful works by visionary artists...[T]here is an excellent resource section....I learned about numerous resources of which I was totally unaware -- Hayes has done a lot of research in this area!...This is the sort of book that both the novice and the experienced psychonaut will enjoy having in their libraries for years to come....Although drug 'trip reports' are common these days on web forums and e-mailing lists, it is the excellent job of selection and editing that Hayes done... which make every story in this compilation an interesting read. I highly recommend this book to all." -- Jon Hanna, The Entheogen Review, Volume X, Number 3, Autumn Equinox 2001

"Real accounts of 'tripping' chart new territory.....Tripping...brings a new dimension to the psychedelic library.... Hayes makes his case, not through arguments, but through 350 pages of 'trips'...prefaced by an informative and well-written essay on the impact of psychedelic drugs on society....The narratives are almost all compelling.....In many respects, the success of Hayes' work is that it allows readers to experience what happens in psychotropic-influenced minds without having to use illegal drugs. Hayes' refusal to advocate...brings a respectability to the book that is valuable for a topic like this...Hayes presents a fact-filled, whimsical 40 pages of introductory material that essentially challenges the reader to read on. The well-indexed book makes this easy to do, presenting a bibliography with excellent references...." -- K.D. Weaver, Block Island Times, Block Island, Rhode Island, October 6, 2001

"Tripping courageously tackles both the positive and negative aspects of psychedelic experiences, in frank and coherent pieces, each by a different author....No matter what section you read, each entry is compelling, descriptive, and most enlightening." -- Daphne Rice, Magical Blend, Issue 78, November 2001  

"...Tripping goes way beyond the 'party drug' picture and dips you into the realms of the subconscious and self-discovery." -- Babylon Travel Magazine (Website)

"...a mighty thoughtful volume...." -- Peter Stafford, Island Views, Issue 6, October 2001

"...a fascinating journey through the folklore of post-modern psychedelia...." -- Jody Franklin, from the headnotes for his interview "Tripping with Charles Hayes" in Trip: The Journal of Psychedelic Culture (formerly TRP), Issue 6, Fall 2001

"...The quality of the anthology rises above the varied collections of trip reports that can be found on the web....The diversity brings weight to the collection, as it seems to speak for and about the far-flung community of adventurers....Some of the most compulsively readable entries are those that describe life-changing bad trips. I was pleased that Hayes chose to include these, as bad trips are not often discussed in an informative, non-judgmental way. Also, they make for a damn good read....I would recommend Tripping to anyone interested in the psychedelic experience, whether for personal or academic interest." -- Kymmco, Trip: The Journal of Psychedelic Culture (formerly TRP), Issue 6, Fall 2001

"....Some things are just beyond words, yet in Tripping, fifty...'psychonauts' make valiant attempts. The results are mixed but sometimes fascinating reading....Ihere's lots of good music and sex and travel described here ....In some ways,... this is a brave book.... Beyond any societal disapproval or risk, there is the fact that this group of people lay themselves bare...and try to crystallize whatever felt important to them. The reader can dip in most anywhere and find something to wonder, gasp, or at least smile at...Tripping can provide cheap, vicarious or nostalgic thrills, with perhaps some insight mixed in...." -- Steve Heilig, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, April-June 2001

"Tripping, the book, is a collection of brief but compact, and often intense explorations of the meaning of Being. Here is the classic mid-journey text that has outgrown the initial amazement of psychedelic enlargement but still retains the open-endedness that much remains to be learned.
Tripping, the experience, is presented without gloss as the unpredictable state of consciousness that may be kissed by the angels, interrogated by the demons, or simply incredibly weird. Some experimenters record life-changing moments of psychic integration and movement to a higher plane, as a lifelong clarification, others describe the possibility of sinking into the schlomus, or state of spiritual desperation. A worthy and honest book such as this one should make us concerned to know which circumstances are most likely to promote change of great value, and which may lead in another direction. The author himself, to his great credit, begins the narratives with a questioning note much like this.
Whether you have tripped or not, this is a must read. For those who have, it will make you almost nostalgic, and almost incredulous that you ever altered your consciousness to this extent. For those who never ingested hallucinogenics, this is a window into the extraordinary world tripping can offer, under the right circumstances. The narratives are sometimes funny, sometimes scary, and sometimes really sad. The excellent research into the pharmacology, and the cultural, and historical roles hallucinogenics have played throughout civilization, make this book more than just a trip down memory lane for the average acid head. It is surprising that more authors have not tackled this fascinating topic." -- a composite of several Amazon.com customer reviews, posted on Drugwar.com

"Whaddaya gonna do? You get 400 pages into a book, you’re already composing all-stops-pulled, laudatory opening lines for the review: 'You probably don’t know it, but if you have any interest in the history of consciousness, your own as well as that of everybody else, you owe a  debt of gratitude to Charles Hayes, editor of Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures.'
Yep, 400 pages of really good stuff, and you’re all set to write an unqualified BUY-THIS-BOOK review.
Because, truly, Charles Hayes has done us all a great service. By various means, including one of those teaser requests for help in the New York Times Book Review, he compiled fifty interviews with an extraordinary range of people concerning their first experiences with psychedelics.
Skillfully transcribed, the stories he got speak vividly, candidly, and grippingly of the reality of the so-called mind-expanding drugs. From ecstasy to despair, bliss to befuddlement, serenity to slapstick, it’s all here.
These are definitely not the stories your parents want you to read, and definitely not the stories your highly paid ersatz parents who run the so-called war on drugs want you to read. Yes, many of the stories are profoundly, movingly, even frighteningly cautionary. Not everybody has a great trip. Far from it. But even the most harrowing experiences produce thoughtful, considered responses. Not 'Just say no' but more along the  lines of, 'If you’re going to do it, know beforehand what you’re getting  into.'
What comes so clear is the stupidity of the conflation by world civilization of ALL mind-altering drugs, except of course the big three (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine). The misguided and dangerous futility of an anti-drug policy which lumps heroin with marijuana, cocaine with mescaline, is implicit in every page of this book.
Human encounters with psychedelics have been going on for millennia. They will continue to go on no matter the myopic fears of the brain police, the legislatures, the courts, the churches, the schools of a given culture. Why? Because they’re fun? Sure. Because they’re recreational? Sure. But primarily because these drugs, as Aldous Huxley cribbing from William Blake pointed out, do nothing less or more than open the doors of perception.
Dangerous? Yes. Hayes’s adventurers sometimes get themselves into some pretty awful fixes. (Not to mention a few that are also pretty funny.) We are all products of a highly controlled and controlling society, one which with heavy hand defines and structures and reinforces its own narrow version of reality. To put yourself in a position where a door opens and you step out of that reality into a vaster realm is, to some extent, to put yourself at risk.
The people in Tripping all did that. They put themselves at risk. To write that sentence more accurately: They put their selves at risk. But the news that the Big Daddies all over the world think they can conceal by teaching us to Just Say No is that these people came back not just changed but changed for the better. Not every time, and the change was not necessarily what had been expected or hoped for.
The danger here, as these stories remind us, is not in the drugs themselves but in the gross mis-information surrounding them, both the 'official' version and the street version. Anyone, for example, who takes DMT as a recreational drug is at best a fool. Or, for that matter, pure LSD.
Indigenous people know this and approach the drugs with awe, caution, and a certain sacramental attitude. We more advanced people slap a big NO! label on them and then leave the young to the most haphazard kinds of experimentation.
What I came away with from 400 pages of stories was a renewed appreciation for the determined resilience of the human spirit. We will, by God, explore, and we will explore to the limits of our perception, no matter  what the conditions.
Eponymously, I was reminded several times of this publication’s namesake. Magellan had a terrible time getting around the southern tip of South America, that dreadful, storm-lashed archipelago off Tierra del Fuego, finally finding a way through on a path which now bears his name: the Straits of Magellan. And when he finally got through, what did he see? What opened itself before his tormented perception? A vast, calm body of  water so lovely, so inviting, that he named it the Pacific Ocean. Little, of course, did he know of what lay ahead as he struggled to cross this 'new' body of water, which turned out often to be pacific in name only.
So too with us and these vaster realities which no secular forces are going to keep us from exploring. An easy trip? Often, but not always. A worthwhile trip? Hayes’s sample of 50 people would surely, almost to a person, say yes, yes, and yes.
So what’s the problem? You remember, at the top I mentioned a problem. The  problem is that Mr. Hayes chose to end his marvelous compilation with a 40-page conversation with the late Terence McKenna. Maybe for some this alone is reason enough to buy the book. For others, maybe not. If Timothy Leary was the Billy Graham of psychedelics, Terence McKenna is the Oral Roberts. The 'conversation' is actually a 120-decibel sermon in which McKenna preaches relentlessly to the choir: Psychedelics are not only the human panacea, they are the GALACTIC, indeed the COSMIC panacea; they are why we are here; all art, all science falls away as we, through the miraculous intervention of the drugs, encounter and become first gods, then God, and then Meta-God., Etc.
The sad thing is that McKenna, like Leary, has quite a bit of useful information. It’s just very difficult to hear it amidst the thundering pulpit-pounding of his incessant proselytizing. For example, his experience with, and remarks about, DMT are richly thought-provoking. Still and all, smothered and confined as we these days are by the predictable, over-hyped wonders of the 'new' media, including the very medium on which you are reading this, to have 50 first-hand reports from true cybernauts is an effective antidote to the technological anesthesia that today passes for culture.
Maybe the time has come to rename the drugs. How about: psychesthetics. What is at issue here is beauty, and our perception of it. Including, perhaps above all, the perception of the beauty of consciousness itself. Tripping will renew that awareness within you." -- Reppy Duart, D.D., Magellan's Log #37, June 2001

"....And readers who peruse Charles Hayes's recently published Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures will find a sequence of first-person narratives (a form at least as old as The Canterbury Tales) that presents, in kaleidoscopic fashion, the last thirty years as refracted through the prism of a drug experience...." -- Nick Bromell, The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 15, 2001 

"...wild tales coming at us in Technicolor. These trip stories are too far out not to be true, very amusing, inspiring and even profound....Truly mind-blowing tales....Tripping is the seminal statement of the millennium from the psychedelic trenches. It's a great read. Bravo, Charles Hayes, take a bow, your new book...is a hit!" -- Thomas Lyttle, Heads, Issue 4, June 2001

"When I was a subscriber to the Visionary Plants List in the mid-‘90s, I became, shall we say, over-familiar with the literary genre known as the Trip Report. These narratives, often so urgent and asyntactic that they seemed to be written before the substance in question had quite worn off, left me wondering how it could be possible to be so egocentric about one’s ego dissolution, so boastful about learning humility. Like other kinds of drug discourse, they were formed less by the inherent demands of the story than by the timetables of pharmaceutical action, and so they all started to sound the same.
On the List they were, of course, unedited, allowing for spontaneity and immediacy, but making me wish for some literary intervention to redeem what I still believed could be an exciting avenue of expression. Now, and never too late, comes just that editorial intelligence in the person of Charles Hayes.
“In one sense,” he writes, “the tales here are fleshed-out versions of the ‘trip reports’ seen on websites which, instructive as they are, tend to be somewhat clinical, truncated, and disembodied. I tried to make the stories full-bodied narratives by and about real people whom readers might feel they have gotten to know a little by story’s end.” And so he has, assembling a brilliant collection by authors ranging from the famous (Anne Waldman, Paul Devereux, Bruce Eisner, Matthew S. Kent, Robert Charles Wilson) to the anonymous, without a dud in the lot.
 In one of his three introductory essays, “Basic Features of the Psychedelic Experience,” Hayes identifies a key contradiction of the genre: “Although each trip, like the tripper, is unique to itself, there is some measure of universality to the psychedelic experience.” He then reviews over 80 years of schematics that purport to classify these common elements, acknowledging that the ensuing narratives show some “inevitable overlapping.” And yet, he continues, “some were completely off the map.” Hayes is a superior editor precisely because he understands that generic conventions are no more than a scaffolding for creation.
Accordingly, he has included only those that possess the greatest novelty—in the best Terence McKenna sense of the word. His reporters are young and not-young, dropouts and professionals, active users and recollecters. They range throughout the psychedelic spectrum from spiritualists to sexpots, dedicated seekers to flabbergasted ingénues.
Speaking of McKenna, the cherry on this cake is a new “conversation” with Terence conducted in January of 1998, just 16 months before the onset of his fatal illness. In the rich treasury of McKenna interviews, this one stands out as one of the most panoramic, reviewing many of his most dazzling and controversial ideas, compressed into an often epigrammatic density, as if the author were in some way previsioning the brevity of his time. It serves as an ideal closure to the collection, conferring new value and urgency upon the preceding reports by pulling a zoom lens back from their individual stories, and placing them in a cosmological context.
Hayes, besides being a fine editor and interviewer, is a serious scholar in his own right. His first introductory essay gives a concise history of tripping, brought up-to-date by a consideration of the relationship of psychedelics to the internet (a theme reprised by McKenna toward the close of the volume). With its many and various virtues, Tripping will appeal to all kinds of readers, from researchers to sensation-seekers. As Spaulding Gray put it so succinctly in his jacket blurb, “Wow! What a contact high.” -- On Drugs author David Lenson, Relix, June/July 2001

"...a valuable addition to anyone's library of books on mind-altering substances....[T]here's no doubt that the book will be of great interest to anyone who reads about psychedelics. I would also recommend it to those who may not have partaken themselves and may not even want to do so, but who are wondering what the fuss is about. It's a well-balanced collection, including the good and the bad. The appendices are also useful...." -- Mason Jones, Morbid Curiosity, Issue 5, May 2001

"....Hayes...is such a bristling and intelligent writer that one almost wishes that he had written the whole book himself....The undisputed highlight...is Hayes's extended conversation with Terence McKenna.....In the McKenna interview, and in Hayes's introduction, the free flow of ideas about these verboten substances and their anthropological/psychological possibilities is exhilarating...." -- Andrew O'Hehir, The Oxford American, March/April 2001

"....a...sensitive and responsible approach to documenting profound experiences with 'drugs.' The results of this informal research are both informative and highly moving..., provid[ing] both education and entertainment on a practice that is relatively common and relatively hidden....[Hayes's] belief that factual, unbiased information on such phenomena led him to compile this warts-and-all global collection of 50 astounding trips....[T]his is Hayes's bid, not to glorify or demonise tripping, but to 'set the leper-crazies free.'....If...[he] can respect the potentially negative effects that non-ordinary consciousness can have on the fragile mind, and nevertheless appreciate the need for further exploration, research and debate on the issue, then why can't the biomedical community?...." -- Kelly Morris, The Lancet, February 10, 2001 

"....Hayes has done his research well. His introductory chapters are riveting, unique, and challenge many of the commonly held beliefs about psychotropic drug use....." -- Marika Brussel, Santa Fe New Mexican, January 28, 2001

"For those of us who have taken journeys to the ineffable, the inconceivable, the indescribable realms of psychedelic experience, Charles Hayes' collection of "trips" is like a stick of incense gently wafted before our souls. It conjures up memories of mystic moments, flashbacks that have been lying dormant in our psyches. These well chosen accounts open the old circuits at least momentarily and give us pause to be grateful.
For those who have never used a sacramental substance, reading this remarkable assortment of experiences will open a new understanding of the role of entheogens in spiritual seeking. Reading these remarkable adventures, it is impossible not to be empathic with at least some of these pioneers exploring some of the manifold mysteries of creation.
Hayes has gathered together about as objective a collection of trip experiences as possible; here the ecstatic and hell realms are both certainly part of the palette. Although written as first hand narratives, these are actually transposed from an impressive series of many interviews conducted in many countries. A few of the writers are well known. But that is really unimportant. Hayes has edited and pieced together the interviews so that they are literate; some are very poetic, all are not only very readable but fascinating.
One of the things that impressed me is the youth of the interviewees. When I mentioned this to Hayes, he said, "Some of them are not young. They were born in 1942, 50, 52." Exactly. Few of these authors were the ebullient vanguard of The Summer of Love.
It is wonderful to see the psychedelic banner carried by another generation down the line and even more wondrous to know that yet a younger generation follows their footsteps. Not only is age an important factor. Although most of the trips described use LSD as the sacramental wafer, the effects of many new compounds are described.
Let's let the author and some of his interviewees say a few words for themselves: 
In the introduction, Hayes (whose words are both eloquent, humorous and poetic and profound!), writes: ' ....'
Actually it is impossible to pick a random sampling from these hundreds of accounts of experiences so beyond the realms of our ordinary language. It's a really excellent book, well thought out, well written, and well woven. As I said in the beginning, this should appeal to both the experienced tripper and those who would like to learn more about why people use such substances." -- (the late) Elizabeth Gips, The Albert Hofmann Foundation

"...In contrast to the often superficial trip reports that can be found at Internet sites, the stories in Tripping describe the psychedelic experience in juicy details. This leads to exciting, and very personal, stories about the transforming effects of drugs..... In these stories, horror and intense happiness take turns in a realistic manner....For the experienced, Tripping is a feast of recognition and inspiration. For the uninitiated, the book will hopefully provide an entry for a wider acceptance of the psychedelic state." -- Soft Secrets, January 2001, premier issue of the Dutch broadsheet devoted to coffeeshop culture

"....intriguing....Tripping...traverse[s] the lines between reality and expanded consciousness, detailing how psychotropics affect the creative process and their underlying chemical and physiological effects.....The narratives..., including those by Beat chronicler Anne Waldman, Ecstasy champion Bruce Eisner and Deadhead author Steve Silberman, are informative, cautionary, hilarious and spooky....The uninitiated may recoil from stories of visions of goat-devils, the moon as an alien flashlight, and nude escapades at Burning Man, but those in on the book's implicit wink will find like-minded stories of drug-induced bliss and abject terror.... Some of the descriptions of acid -- 'a wheelbarrow to scoop the drifting sands of fleeting mental images' [from Steven Martin Cohen] -- and the understandings of self that stem from tripping are believable and occasionally triumphant. Others may cause unwelcome flashbacks.....In a strange way,...Tripping evoke[s] the 'Hurry Up Please, It's Time' refrain from T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land.' Only in this case, it's 'Hurry up please, and pass the tab.'" -- Mark Luce, San Francisco Chronicle, December 3, 2000

"....Several stories recount similar experiences: feelings of unspeakable bliss, a direct connection with God or Nature, a vision of one's own birth or death. There are also horrific experiences like that of Kenny who, high on LSD, burned over 60 percent of his body after jumping into a bonfire.....The author intends the book for "psychonauts" who want to compare notes and for the uninitiated who wish 'to vicariously experience the thrills and traumas of the trip.' It is the latter to whom the book will appeal most." -- William Gargan, Library Journal, December 2000

"...This exciting book...is a must-read for anyone with a love of, interest in, or disdain for psychedelic substances....Hayes and his brood of brave explorers accept that insanity is a possible, if extremely rare, consequence of dabbling with the power and mystery of the unconscious mind. But the general consensus seems to be that, good, bad or indifferent, the ride itself justifies the risk. The journey into the mind is one worth taking, even if you don't always like what you find there." -- Lynn T. Theodose, Boulder Weekly, November 22, 2000

"...Hayes' purpose is to delineate the place of psychedelic substances and the urge to ingest them in contemporary cultural history.....citing historical antecedents to back himself up....The concluding conversation with ...Terence McKenna...is entirely fitting. For seriously treating what is often characterized as nihilistic and destructive entertainment, [Tripping] deserves its place in the literature of psychoactive substances." -- Mike Tribby, Booklist, November 15, 2000

"The '60s rite of passage through what Aldous Huxley called the "doors of perception" was LSD; in Tripping..., edited by Charles Hayes, these drug-induced visions, narrated by ex-acid heads, make for a fascinating journey through the wonders and terrors of psychedelic life." -- Elle  (in "Elle recommends..." column), November 2000

"....An excellent travel guide is Tripping..., an anthology...that demystifies the shrill and long-standing propaganda of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Nancy Reagan, and the Hollywood studio system...." -- Flaunt,  November 2000, Second Anniversary Collector's Issue

"....Charles Hayes might be able to change ...[your] image [of psychedelic drugs].... Or at the very least, tweak your head enough to make you think your idea has changed.... Along with serious essays..., [Tripping] takes an objective, well-rounded look at altered states...." -- State Press Magazine (SPM), Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, November 9, 2000

"...a fascinating exploration of the effects of psychedelics on the human mind. Undeniably drug-induced, insanely interesting, Tripping allows those curious about the experience a small, safe peek into the world of psychedelics, and gives well-established trippers a chance to compare notes." -- Sarah Linn, The Daily Barometer, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, November 3, 2000 

"Balancing seriousness with a great sense of adventure, this terrifically engaging compendium of 50 personal accounts of psychedelic experiences avoids all of the expected cultural and psychological cliches. Editor Hayes has not only assembled a group of highly literate, introspective and often spiritual testimonies to the power of psychedelics, but has placed them in a broader historical, social, and religious context, beginning with the Eleusinian mysteries of the fifth century [sic], and moving through Hindu mystical religious ceremonies and William James's classic 1902 treatise, The Varieties of Religious Experiences. Hayes also includes some basic medical and psychological background, but the power is in the personal stories. Some are straightforwardly told, such as a relatively unexamined account by a high school student about how an acid trip created an intense "psychic link" with a close friend, while others are more elaborate, such as the one by John Perry Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who details how tripping (along with French theologian Teilhard de Chardin) radically altered his view of the universe. Some writers, eschewing illegal drugs such as LSD and the counterculture surrounding them, write about their dream trips on nutmeg (yes, available in any supermarket), while others, such as Steve Silberman at Wired News, are far more involved with psychedelic cultural communities. While not all of the "trips" here are positive, Hayes clearly intends to demystify the use of psychedelics, remove the negative social stigmas and promote them as a valid, useful and edifying means of personal and social growth." -- Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2000

TESTIMONIALS

"Tripping is a trip in itself, and one of the most entertaining and informative explorations of psychedelics I've read. Hayes and his correspondents express the inexpressible, reporting on the ecstasy, agony and sheer anarchic weirdness encountered on the via psychedelia. This splendid work is a great addition to the literature of psychedelia." -- John Horgan, author The End of Science and Rational Mysticism

"Tripping is an excellent compendium of first-hand accounts examining the range of altered state experiences induced by psychedelics. For the future investigator attempting to understand the range of subjective experiences and social contexts for psychedelic use at the end of the 20th century, Tripping should prove to be an invaluable source of information. An added bonus to this excellent collection is one of the best Terence McKenna interviews I have seen in years." -- Charles S. Grob, M.D., Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, contributor to Ecstasy: The Complete Guide

"...This volume will tell you more about the potentialities and dangers of psychedelic usage than any of the previous anthologies..." -- Peter Stafford, author of Psychedelics Encyclopedia

"There probably does not exist in print such a complete coverage of the various kinds of experiences possible." -- The Albert Hofmann Foundation

"I recommended Tripping to my 'Psychedelic Mindview' class. The students report that it gave them first-hand insights into psychedelic experiences that they hadn't known about before. The book hits the high points and is very up-to date." -- Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D., editor of Psychoactive Sacramentals: Essays on Entheogens and Religion

“We can theorize about psychedelics till the cow patties come home, but there's nothing as poignant, perplexing, and funny as a well-told trip report. Charles Hayes has gathered together some great ones. Tripping is instructive, hilarious and -- let's face it -- enticing. I loved it.” -- R.U. Sirius, founder of Mondo 2000

"Exhilarating and alarming, Charles Hayes's compendium of altered states does more to capture the 'heaven and hell' aspects of the psychedelic experience than any other book of our generation. How did his subjects ever return intact to tell these stories? Thus, Tripping points to two related and powerful facts. We possess a  miraculous ability to land on our feet no matter what the circumstances. We also lack of any coherent system in which to give, take and optimize the use of these remarkable materials." -- Rick Strassman,  M.D., author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule

"Charles Hayes's Tripping is a fascinating collection of accounts from behind the veil. Can we really put into words that of which we can not speak? The best efforts so far can be found here. This book is an essential part of the library of anyone who is either in or out of his right mind." -- Karl Jansen, M.D., Ph.D., author of Ketamine: Dreams and Realities

"I couldn't stop dipping in and out of this juicy book, flying from New York to Detroit and back. At times it felt like just reading it was keeping the plane up. Wow! What a contact high." -- Spalding Gray, actor, author, screen writer of Swimming to Cambodia and Gray's Anatomy

"Tripping provides the much needed 'coming out of the closet' that the psychedelic movement has lacked, but that the gay rights movement found so valuable. These stories will captivate, inspire, caution and educate. This courageous book has been long-awaited, and exceeds expectations." -- Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

"Demonized and criminalized, the psychedelic experience remains one of the most bracing ontological adventures a citizen of this homogenized planet can still aspire to. By nature it is not an undertaking that lends itself to objective facts, stats or official maps --just private narratives, often vividly strange and always intensely personal. Charles Hayes's Tripping is the best collection of psychedelic traveler's tales that I have read in a long, long time. It should be in the knapsack of anyone contemplating passage through what Aldous Huxley called the 'reducing valve' of normal consciousness --and out into the great beyond." -- Jay Stevens, author of Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream

"Here's life from the trenches of consciousness, psychedelic style. Charles Hayes' Tripping presents a dipperful of dreams as seen and recounted by the users of hallucinogens. It may not be 1968, but you'd never know it after reading this diary-like collection. Things are as psychedelic as ever, and here's why..." -- Thomas Lyttle, author of Psychedelics ReImagined; editor/publisher of Psychedelic Monographs and Essays

"This richly rewarding book takes the reader into uncharted domains of consciousness and creativity. The stories told, the reflections given reveal the phenomenal landscapes of innerspace." -- Jean Houston , co-author of The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience, author of A Mythic Life and many other books, editorial consultant to Hillary Rodham Clinton for It Takes a Village

"Second only to an intense personal psychedelic experience is a report from someone else who has ventured into new territory and who is willing to share his discoveries with me. Here is a magnificent collection of such travels by true explorers, most of whom I do not know, but all of whom I would be thrilled to meet someday." -- Alexander Shulgin, Ph.D. Chemistry, former Dow research scientist, author of PiHKAL and TiHKAL, "Godfather of MDMA"

"...an important contribution to countercultural history..." -- Paul Krassner, publisher of The Realist, journalist, author of Psychedelic Trips for the Mind

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