IN a continuing effort to alert would-be translators, publishers and readers to noteworthy non-English publications on the subject of shamanic inebriants, we present here the fourth installment of mini-reviews of recent titles which Jonathan Ott thinks are especially valuable or interesting. Where possible, book prices and all salient ordering information are included, to facilitate direct and expeditious acquisition.

Non-Anglo Entheography: Mini-Reviews of Non-English Publications, IV

Spanish originals

Hacia Una Medicina Psiquedélica: Reflexiones Sobre el Uso de Enteógenos en Psicoterapia [Towards a Psychedelic Medicine: Reflections on the Use of Entheogens in Psychotherapy] Richard Yensen, 1998. Los Libros de la Liebre de Marzo [Apartado de Correos, 2215; E-08080 Barcelona, Spain / fax 343­431­7195 / e-mail: laliebre@lix.intercom.es]. paperback; ISBN 84-87403-36-0; 236 pp.; no index; 12 pp. bibliography of 242 sources; prologue by J.M. Fericgla. A translation of 10 papers written in English, some unpublished, this is a useful overview of psychedelic therapy, combining introductory/overview chapters, technical papers on specific psychotherapeutic use of LSD and MDA, and reviews of the work of Stanislav Grof and of the author and colleagues, the latter covering 30 years of studies at Spring Grove Hospital and Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. The 7th publication in editor Fericgla's Colección Cogniciones series, this book suffers from editorial laxitude which has plagued the series from its inception. A much-needed index to the interesting material collected here is inexplicably lacking. The useful and extensive bibliography had better been grouped in a single, alphabetized list, as opposed to five sections keyed to individual chapters, to avoid much needless duplication and allow facile bibliographic research.

Curanderos y Chamanes de la Sierra Mazateca [Healers and Shamans of the Mazatec Sierra] Juan Miranda [photographs; text by Juan García Carrera], 1997. Gatuperio Editores [Wisconsin, 68; Col. Nápoles; 03810 México, d.f.]. paperback; ISBN 968­7611­05­7; 72 pp.; no index; no bibliography; three maps; one page glossary; 30 b/w photographs. This is a beautiful collection of photographs of 21 shamans from the Mazatec Sierra of Oaxaca, México, each accompanied with a brief biographical/explanatory text; with a handy map to their homes, making this an essential support for ethnobotanical fieldwork on Mazatec shamanic healing.

Iboga: La Sociedad Secreta del Bueti [Iboga: the Secret Society of Bueti] José Manuel Nova, 1998. Transglobe Films [Calle Bailén, 41; Las Rosas; 28230 Madrid, Spain]. hardcover; ISBN 84­605­7187­4; 265 pp.; no index; no bibliography; one map; ten page glossary; two b/w photographs; numerous vignettes. More journalistic than scientific, this nicely-made book nevertheless affords a rather detailed glimpse into the secret Bueti Iboga cult of the bandjis [initiates] of Equatorial Guinea, much less studied than the better-known Bwiti cult of its neighbor to the south, Gabon. The book was made parallel to a video documentary by the author of the rites of this "unknown African secret society."

Shamanismo [sic] Sudamericano [South American Shamanism] Juan Schobinger [Ed.], 1997. Ediciones Continente/Editorial Almagesto [Pavón, 2229/31/35; 1248 Buenos Aires, Argentina]. paperback; ISBN 950­754­036­9; 115 pp.; no index; 7 pp. bibliography of 90 sources; one map; one page glossary; 16 b/w photographs; 10 b/w drawings. This recent anthology contains seven papers on South American shamanism, with several being general treatises on the nature of shamanism, the importance of shamanic singing and music, and shamanic rupestrian art. One paper deals with shamanic use of hataj or cebil [Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil] by the Wichi or Mataco of northern Argentina; others with shamanism of the Tehuelche and Araucana Indians of Argentina and Chile.

Recent Spanish translations of non-English originals

Plantas Psicoactivas: 69 Plantas con Efectos Estimulantes, Eufóricos, Calmantes, Afrodisíacos o Alucinógenos [Psychoactive Plants: 69 Plants with Stimulant, Euphoric, Sedative, Aphrodisiac or Hallucinogenic Effects] Harald Janssen [Ed.], 1997. Castellarte [Castillo de Castellar; 11350 Castellar de la Frontera, Spain; ptas. 1800]. paperback; ISBN 84-921001-1-7; 125 pp.; five page index; one page bibliography of 17 sources; 65 vignettes. This sketchy guide to psychoactive plants [there are more than a few dubious entries] is more a catalogue to species available commercially from shamanic herbal pharmacies than a shamanic herbal, and the paltry scientific information presented is marred by numerous errors. On the other hand, having a five page index, and a list of ten shamanic herbal vendors with addresses, it serves as an introductory guide for would-be psychonautic hobbyists.

Narcóticos [Narcotics] Stanislaw I. Witkiewicz, 1994. Circe Ediciones [Diagonal, 459; 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Ptas. 2700]. paperback; ISBN 84­7765­080­2; 213 pp.; no index; no bibliography. We have here a welcome translation of the recondite narkotyki of Polish artist/photographer/philosopher/writer Witkiewicz [also known as Witkacy], who committed suicide in 1939 at the age of 54. There are essays on nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and peyote by the author; supplemented by essays on morphine by B. Filipowski and ether by D. Prokopowicz, as well as an appendix with six general essays and an annex describing a peyote bioassay in 1928. Although dark and acerbic--indeed relentlessly misanthropic--and steeped in self-loathing and pharmacoodium, Witkiewicz writes well, with a wicked sense of black humor which will surely appeal to fans of the late William S. Burroughs.

Italian originals, translation / original Il Dio Dell'Ebbrezza: Antologia Dei Moderni Dionisiaci [The God of Inebriation: Anthology of Modern Dionysians] Elémire Zolla [Ed., with Giovanna De Angelis], 1998. Giulio Einaudi Editore [Torino, Italy; Lire 26,000]. paperback; ISBN 88­06­14308­5; 534 pp.; no index; no bibliography; one page notes to translations. This is a valuable anthology of 48 writings on drugs and inebriation, preceded by an extensive essay, "The Mythical Figure of Dionysus from Antiquity to Today," which verses from the ancient world to 19th century writers Coleridge, De Quincey and Poe, Baudelaire, Nerval and Nietzsche, to a discussion of ancient and modern drugs. We have here selections from classic pharmacoscriveners like Nietzsche, Freud, Benjamin, Cocteau, Artaud, Michaux, Huxley, Burroughs, Wasson, Benn and Juenger, including many less well-known for pharmacological proclivities, such as Tolstoy, Lawrence and García Lorca. There are also quite a few modern, more scientific selections, such as from Kensinger, Siskind, Gorman, Plotkin and Langdon on Amazonian entheogens, Valadez on péyotl, Samorini and others on iboga, and works of quite a few obscure writers. The book is well-made and thoughtfully-conceived, and deserves a place in any library of drug literature. On the other hand, the six blank pages and four pages of adverts in the back had better been used for an index to its fascinating contents.

Piante, Sciamani e Droghe: Uso e Abuso [sic] dell'Estasi Chimica [Plants, Shamans and Drugs: Use and Abuse of Chemical Ecstasy] Antonio Bianchi with Piero Coppo, 1998. Edizioni Colibri [via San Michele del Carso, 4; 20037 Paderno Dugnano (mi), Italy; Lire 18,000]. paperback; ISBN 88­86345­18­6; 137 pp.; no index; bibliographies to individual chapters; 15 b/w illustrations; 4 color photographs on inside cover flaps; seven page glossary. This book is divided into six chapters: "Ecstasy in History" [with the Eleusinian Mysteries and Amanita muscaria as examples]; "Spirits and Shamans" [citing péyotl, Iboga and ayahuasca]; "The Psychedelic Culture and the Myth of Planetary Revolution" [Huxley, Leary's Harvard group and McKenna]; "The Shaman and the Anthropologist: End of a Dream" [discussing Castaneda and Harner, New Age drug tourism]; "A New Psychedelia for the Third Millennium?" [psychedelic therapy, ibogaine and near-death experiences, Santo Daime and the Entheogenic Reformation]; and "Soma: Toward New Myths?' [god in the brain, modern technocrats of ecstasy]. This is rather an introductory survey than in-depth study, with limited bibliographies. Strangely, the cover title differs from that on the title page, but the book is nicely made, although the reader deserves an index rather than five pages of adverts.

Rospi Psichedelici [Psychedelic Toads] Albert Most, et al., 1995. Nautilus [CP 1311; 10100 Torino, Italy; Lire 4500]. Staple-bound paperback; no ISBN; 41 pp.; no index; three page bibliography of 25 sources; one map; 22 b/w illustrations. This cute booklet is in the main a translation of Most's 1984 Bufo alvarius: the psychedelic toad of the sonoran desert, albeit here much improved by the addition of the unsigned ["Various Authors"] "Batracomania" and "Legends and Beliefs on the Curative Power of the Toad," in which I descry the scholarly hand of Giorgio Samorini. An interesting appendix on "The Chemistry of the Toad," with a table on toxins of amphibian skins and notes on three European species of Bufo, plus the concise bibliography, round out this excellent little booklet, although, once again, the reader deserves an index or further references, rather than the four pages of adverts. On the other hand, with its colorful dust-jacket, fine paper and printing, and lovely designs intercalated with the text, this is a rare bargain at Lire 4500!

new Italian / English scientific periodical

Eleusis: Piante e Composti Psicoattivi [Eleusis: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds] Giorgio Samorini and Jonathan Ott [Eds.], 1998. Grafton 9 / Museo Civico di Rovereto [Piazza Aldrovandi, 1/a; 40125 Bologna, Italy; Lire 18,000/single issue; Lire 40,000/US$40.00 for two-issue subscription]. with cardboard academic wraps; no issn; 128 pp.; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. As nuova serie [new series] No. 1, this is the first number of a new journal dedicated to the ethnopharmacognosy of psychoactive plants; a continuation of Eleusis and [earlier still] of Bolettino d'Informazione de la SISSC [8 numbers of each], originally produced by the Società Italiana per lo Studio degli Stati di Coscienza. In contrast to its predecessors, however, Eleusis nuvoa serie has been reformatted and expanded into a biennial scientific journal, divorced from the SISSC and published commercially under the auspices of the Museo Civico di Rovereto [submissions care of: Giorgio Samorini; Largo Santa Caterina, 43; 38068 Rovereto, Trento, Italy]. Featuring a clean design and printed on high-quality paper, Eleusis plugs the gap created by the demise of the German Integration: Zeitschrift fuer Geistbewegende Pflanzen und Kultur, which recently folded after publishing five numbers sporadically over as many years. The titular editors are backed by an editorial board including Jace Callaway, Josep M. Fericgla, Francesco Festi and C. Manuel Torres. The first number features 7 articles by: A. Escohotado [Chemical Euphoria and Human Dignity]; this reviewer [The Post-Wasson History of the Soma Plant]; C.M. Torres [The Role of Cohoba in Taíno Shamanism]; R.W. Gess [Leaves of Endurance: The Use of Khat in Northern Kenya and Ethiopia]; J.M. Fericgla [Peyote and Ayahuasca in New American Mystery Religions]; G. Samorini [The "Mushroom Trees" in Christian Art]; and S.A. van Heiden [Psychoactive Card IX: Desmanthus leptolobus Torrey & A. Gray]. All articles appear in Italian and English set in parallel columns, with the exception of Fericgla's [Italian and Castillian]. The inaugural issue features 8 pages of reviews, and continues the useful mini-reviews of recent technical articles from the prior iteration of Eleusis. This is a promising start for this much-needed, independent entheojournal. German originals

Das Drogentaschenbuch [The Pocket Drug Book] Ralph Parnefjord, 1997. Ferdinand Enke Verlag [P.O. Box 30 03 66; D-70443 Stuttgart, Germany]. Paperback, ISBN 3­432­29751­3; 162 pp.; five page index; four page bibliography of 62 sources, 19 b/w illustrations, one page internet addresses. This handly little "pocket book," written by a physician, quite systematically covers 19 classes of drugs: amphetamines, cannabis, 2-CB [sic, 2C-B], DMT/ayahuasca, DOM, MDMA, 4-methyl-aminorex, GHB, heroin, ketamine, cocaine, nitrous oxide, LSD, mescaline, synthetic [sic, artificial] opioids, opium, PCP, psilocybin and inhalant solvents. For each, an illustration cum structural formulæ is followed by sections detailing: "On the Substance," "Manner of Use," "Effects," "Manufacture" and "Supplementary [Remarks]." The book concludes with sections on "Major Symptoms of Intoxication" and "Emergency Measures." As such, this book is a fine complement to Richi Moscher's Too Much: First-Iid for Drug Poisonings, reviewed here previously. Unfortunately, the useful bibliography seems to be missing a page, as it commences with "Cherniak, L." There is also a welcome page listing Internet sites for further information, and a good index... with three blank pages for notes, in lieu of the officious adverts so habitual to European publishers! My only criticism is the perfect-bound, kiss-the-pages-goodbye, binding--this worthy little reference, sure to be much-thumbed, deserves better, lest some er physician soil gloved hands picking loose leaves from the floor while her patient languishes!

Enzyklopaedie der Psychoaktiven Pflanzen [Encyclopædia of Psychoactive Plants] Christian Raetsch, 1998. at Verlag [Bahnhofstrasse, 39-43; CH-5001 Aarau, Switzerland; DM228, SFR198, OES1664]. hardcover; ISBN 3­85502­570­3; 941 pp.; 32 pp. index; 27 pp. bibliography of 1071 sources plus bibliographies to individual entries; 800 color photographs; numerous b/w illustrations; eight page systematic index; foreword by Albert Hofmann. I can scarcely do justice to this massive book in this mini-review, other than to catalogue its comprehensive contents and praise its high quality. There is a 13-page prelude to the meat of the book, the 594-page the psychoactive plants, which is subdivided into four sections: The Most Important Genera and Species from A to Z [518 pp.; 158 entries]; Less-Researched Psychoactive Plants [47 pp., 134 entries]; Putative Psychoactive Plants [10 pp.; 26 entries] and Hitherto Unidentified Psychoactive Plants [16 pp.; 45 entries]. There follows a psychoactive mushrooms [75 pp.; 25 entries] section and one on psychoactive products [115 pp.; 31 entries]. The section plant active principles [60 pp.; 35 entries] is completed by the systematic index, general bibliography and general index. Apart from the extensive general bibliography, each of the 454 entries in the seven alphabetized subcategories has its own mini-bibliography [in the case of the mushroom section, there is also appended a five page bibliography with 178 sources]. The countless beautiful color and b/w illustrations are supplemented by marginalia which include chemical-structural diagrams and interesting epigrams from technical and literary sources, and even the bibliographies feature 48 book-cover photographs as marginalia. I cannot recommend this book too highly--suffce to say that it will take its rightful place beside a small handful of other contemporary classics of psychotropic-drug literature.

Hexenmedizin. Die Wiederentdeckung Einer Verbotenen Heilkunst--Schamanische Traditionen in Europa [Witches' Medicine. The Rediscovery of a Forbidden Healing Art--Shamanic Tradition in Europe] Claudia Mueller-Ebeling et al., 1998. at Verlag [Bahnhofstrasse, 39-43; CH-5001 Aarau, Switzerland; DM39.90, SFR39.90, OES291]. hardcover; ISBN 3­85502­601­7; 272 pp.; eight page index; nine page bibliography of 489 sources; 150 b/w illustrations; 50 color illustrations; nine page appendix of plants associated with witches. This gorgeous book is divided into four parts: i) "Witches' Medicine--Good Medicine?" by Wolf-Dieter Storl; ii) "Witches' Medicine--The Legacy of Hecate" by Christian Raetsch; iii) "Witches' Medicine--The Demonization of Nature's Healing Power" by Claudia Mueller-Ebeling; and iv) "Witches' Medicine--Forbidden Medicine" by Raetsch. The introductory section [Storl is also author of Heilkraeuter und Zauberpflanzen Zwischen Haustuer und Gartentor (Healing Herbs and Magic Plants between the Home's Door and the Garden Gate), at Verlag, 1996] surveys the witches' pharmacop¦ia, giving special attention to 'flying ointments,' weather magic, midwifery and other topics. Part ii focuses particularly on: aphrodisiacs; Hecate and her garden; Orpheus; Medea, Circe, Artemis; ecbolics; flying ointments and witches' wines [highlighting henbane, aconite, pæony, mandrake, wormwood, poplar and yew]. Part iii is art-historical, covering animal-familiars, poisoning and healing, weather magic, soothsaying, demonization of goddesses [Venus, Diana] to witches, and singles out artistic works of Hans Baldung Grien and Frans Francken the Younger. Part iv is devoted to the Pharmacratic Inquisition in the modern era, culminating in today's 'narcotic laws,' with examples coca/cocaine, poppy/opium, mescaline/psilocybin and ayahuasca. The superb table of plants with linguistic [in German] associations with witches and 'devils' lists no fewer than 375, some with up to 38 botanical correspondences. The wealth of information, solid bibliography and detailed index, as well as the beautiful design and lavish illustration, establish Hexenmedizin as the best book ever on the witches' pharmacop¦ia.

Medizin aus dem Regenwald: Die Weisheit der Naturvoelker [Medicine from the Rainforest: The Wisdom of Native Peoples] Christian Raetsch, 1997. Natura Med/Hampp Verlag [Breslauerstrasse, 5; 74172 Neckarsulm, Germany; DM29.80, OES218]. hardcover; ISBN 3­930706­14­8; 141 pp.; no index; three page bibliography of 33 sources; 64 color photographs; 11 addresses of suppliers and sources for information. This beautifully-illustrated little book is a popular introduction to rainforest ethnomedicine, which could lead the neophyte to conclude that the predominant disease of rainforest peoples is ennui--the great bulk of the material concerns psychoactive plants! Perhaps this is a captious remark, inasmuch as the book is subtitled the wisdom of native peoples, which clearly derives largely from such, and far be it from me to call that kettle black! The photographs are lovely and the book amenable, supplemented by a useful guide to sources for plants and information, but the three pages of adverts had better been used for an index to its interesting contents.

Halluzinogene im «Sozialismus» [Hallucinogens under «Socialism»] Jochen Gartz [Ed.], 1998. Nachtschatten Verlag [Kronengasse, 11; Postfach 448; 4502 Solothurn, Switzerland; DM24.80, SFR23.00, OES181]. paperback; ISBN 3­907080­33­5; 118 pp.; no index; bibliographies to individual papers; numerous b/w diagrams, illustrations. We have here a reprint of excerpts from three military textbooks from the defunct Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, referring to the use of 'hallucinogens' as weapons. Chapter 8, "Psychotoxic Warfare Agents" from Siegfried Franke's 1975 Textbook of Military Chemistry, covers agent BZ, LSD and homologues, DMT, bufotenine, psilocin, mescaline and cannabinoids. Chapter 7, of the same title, from Ralf Stoehr's Chemical Warfare Agents and Defense Against Chemical Warfare, seems to be derivative, as it covers much the same material, albeit more scantily. The book concludes with the section on "Psychotoxins" from Karlheinz Lohs' 1967 Synthetic Toxins, dealing in the main with LSD and congeners, followed by a brief review of anticholinergic piperidylbenzylates of the pcp type. A brief perusal of any recent Loompanics catalogue, which includes reprints of similar publications by the US military, should stanch any disparaging comments on 'godless Commies,' not that this excuses such dastardly hypocrisy by either side [the DDR had likewise prohibited LSD and other visionary drugs under the cover of public health protection]. It would have been better had the publisher included an index, or perhaps some commentary on this strange material, in lieu of eight blank pages and two pages of adverts at the book's end.

French original reprint

Le D. Man [Untranslatable] Gabriel Pomerand, 1994 [1966]. Les Livres de Nulle Part [Address and price unknown]. Staple-bound paperback; no ISBN; 44 pp.; no index; one page bibliography of six sources. This limited [to 99] edition reprint of the original 1966 edition commences with a four-part introduction on the history of ergot and ergotism, as well as its product, LSD. There follows a 33-page pæan to LSD, "one of the first future drugs," "one of the principal types of spiritual power," based on the personal experiences of the author.

French classic reprint

La Plante Qui Fait les Yeux Émerveillés: Le Peyotl [The Plant That Makes the Eyes Marvel: Péyotl] Alexandre Rouhier [Guy Trédaniel, Ed.], 1989. Éditions de la Maisnie [no address given]. paperback; ISBN 2­85707­332­1; 409 pp.; no index; 11 pp. bibliography of 185 sources; two maps; 26 b/w photographs; 32 b/w illustrations; 10 tables. This well-done facsimile of Rouhier's 1927 multidisciplinary classic on péyotl is faithful to the original, even reproducing the academic manilla cover design. The text furthermore incorporates five pages of author's corrections to the text, signalled by asterisks and enumerated on pp. 359­363. The bibliography has also been expanded by the addition of 49 references up to 1975, and as an added bonus, the editor has included as appendix the author's contemporaneous paper "Les plantes divinatoires" ["Divinatory Plants," the 1927 German translation of which, "Die Hellsehen hervorrufenden Pflanzen," was recently reprinted in facsimile by express Edition, Berlin, 1986; with a foreword by Christian Raetsch]. Now all serious students of entheobotany will be able to possess this indispensable study of the famous Aztec amrta.

Dutch originals

Reviewer's Note: Although my spoken Dutch is as good as non-existent, I did acquire rudimentary reading-skills in that beautiful language during my prolonged sojourn in Amsterdam following the recent Psychoactivity conference, and henceforth will endeavor to keep MAPS members apprised of the burgeoning drug-publishing scene in the Netherlands.

XTC: Alles Over Ecstasy [XTC: Everything About Ecstasy] Arno Adelaars, 1996. Globe Pockets [Singel, 450; 1017 AV Amsterdam, Netherlands]. paperback; ISBN 90­6265­738­9; 193 pp.; no index; nine page bibliography of 128 sources. Arno 'Noot' Adelaars, well-known Dutch journalist/activist and co-organizer of the 1­4 October 1998 Psychoactivity Conference in Amsterdam here presents the third, expanded edition of his 1991 Ecstasy: De Opkomst van een Bewustzijnsveranderend Middel [Ecstasy: The Origin of a Consciousness-Altering Agent]. There are nine parts in all: Escape from the Clinic; Ecstasy in the Netherlands; Ecstasy Users; Party- and Home-Users; The Effects of Ecstasy; Risks; Ecstasy in the Nineties; House and Ecstasy in the Netherlands and Dance Drugs; followed by six appendices which include chemical-structural diagrams, results of tests of black-market pills in Holland and a facsimile of Merck's 1912 patent on MDMA. Particularly interesting is the Dance Drugs section, which contains a catalogue of 24 other drugs associated with the Dutch dance-club scene, from alcohol, tobacco, smart-drugs, guaraná, cola nut, qat, yohimbe, Herbal Ecstasy, GHB and 'energy-drinks' to amphetamines, cocaine, cannabis, 2C-B, MDA, MDEA and MDOH, not to forget LSD, nitrous oxide, psilocybian mushrooms and poppers! Sort of makes one wish to catch the next flight to Amsterdam, although ardent De Quinceyans may be left scratching their noses: what? no smack? The scientific and popular history of MDMA is well-covered here, as are its effects and dangers, and there is a useful bibliography, although the 13 advert pages [more than 6% of the book!] had better been employed for a much-needed index to its interesting contents.

Alles Over Paddo's [Everything About Mushrooms] Arno Adelaars, 1997. Prometheus [Amsterdam, Netherlands]. paperback; ISBN 90­5333­586­2; 162 pp.; three page index; four page bibliography of 71 sources; 16 b/w illustrations; 4 page glossary. Adelaar's new book is an introductory overview of the ethnopharmacognosy of psilocybian mushrooms, divided into nine sections: The Discovery of the Sacred Mushrooms of México; The First Psychedelic Wave; The Second Psychedelic Wave; The Psychedelic Experience; Use; Mushroom Portraits; Cultivation of Mushrooms; Risks and Ethnomycology: On the Trail of Wasson. After reviewing the modern rediscovery of the Mexican sacred mushrooms and subsequent isolation of psilocybin, the book proceeds to chronicle the prominent role of the mushrooms in today's Entheogenic Reformation: from Huxley to Harvard, Huautla to San Francisco, House Music to smart shops like Conscious Dreams. The effects and use of the paddestoelen [as in English, the common Dutch word for mushroom is toadstool] is followed by monographs of six species: Psilocybe azurescens; P. cubensis; P. cyanescens; P. semilanceata; Panæolus cyanescens and P. subbalteatus, giving descriptions, habitat and range data, potency/posology and history. There are details on cultivation of three of these species, including addresses of spore vendors, a chapter on adverse effects and a concluding chapter briefly reviewing the field of ethnomycology founded by R.G. and V.P. Wasson in 1926. A short bibliography, glossary and brief index complete this interesting and comprehensive introduction to the entheogenic mushrooms, which complements a contemporaneous Dutch book in English: Paddos our Little Brothers. Travel Guide to the Shroom Space: Starter for Magic Mushroom Psychonauts [Anon. 1997. Ergosoft (pob 43048; 1009 za Amsterdam; tel. 3120­627­3198; US$6.00, £4, BFR200, Ÿ10); paperback; ISBN 90­803696­2­4; 80 pp.; no index; one page bibliography of 18 sources; 35 b/w illustrations].

Uit Je Bol: Over XTC, Paddestoelen, Wiet en Andere Middelen [Out of Your Mind: Via XTC, Mushrooms, Weed and Other Means] Gerben Hellinga and Hans Plomp, 1997. Prometheus [Amsterdam, Netherlands]. paperback; ISBN 90­5333­527­7; 192 pp.; no index; six page bibliography of 69 sources; 12 b/w illustrations. This is the sixth, revised edition of the 1994 introductory handbook to pleasure-drugs, featuring 36, plus 10 other chapters with titles such as The Revenge of Dionysus and Drugs and Sex. Symbols readily distinguish the chapters dealing with: plants [12, such as cannabis, coca, ayahuasca, qat, iboga]; pills [six, including: amphetamines, LSD, pcp, smart-drugs]; chemicals [four, for instance 2C-B and GHB]; injectables [two: heroin, ketamine]; mushrooms [two: fly-agaric and psilocybian species] and other miscellaneous categories. A diverse little bibliography rounds out this interesting book, which unfortunately lacks an index to its eclectic contents.

Jonathan Ott is the author of entheobotanical books including Pharmacophilia or The Natural Paradises, Pharmacotheon, and Ayahuasca Analogues. These titles and others may be ordered directly from: Jonathan Ott Books, P.O. Box 1251, Occidental, CA 95465.