Getting High: A History of LSD

It would be easy to do a lurid video history of LSD, but this History's Mysteries series entry, which aired on the History Channel, actually devotes more time to Albert Hoffman, the Swiss scientist who first synthesized LSD in 1943 than to acid outlaw Charles Manson. Featured interviewees and/or subjects include Ken Kesey, Grace Slick, Alduous Huxley, Timothy Leary and Cary Grant's therapist. Given this lineup, there is a good deal of praise for acid, not necessarily for recreational use, but rather more as a psychotherapeutic tool: in addition to LSD's mind-expanding potentialities, the CIA and KGB both shared an interest in the compound for use as a psychological weapon. Even-handed and non-judgmental, this is an unlikely pick for D.A.R.E. collections and justifiably paranoid school libraries, but libraries desiring both sides of the debate on recreational drug use and the war on drugs should definitely acquire it. The celebrities speak forthrightly of their experiences with LSD and generally support the idea that although the psychedelic experience has benefited them, it's not for everyone. Huxley, in fact, was adamant that too many people were taking the drug--even under the care of their psychiatrists--before it was made illegal in 1966. Librarians old and adventurous enough to remember when Hoffman's employer Sandoz' name was as iconic as Zig-Zag's don't need to be told, but for others, to paraphrase the late Dr. Leary, turn on, tune in, and buy it. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)