Status
Call number
Collection
Publication
Description
This is the first volume of North Atlantic Books' updated paperback edition of Dale Pendell's Pharmako trilogy, an encyclopedic study of the history and uses of psychoactive plants and related synthetics first published between 1995 and 2005. The books form an interrelated suite of works that provide the reader with a unique, reliable, and often personal immersion in this medically, culturally, and spiritually fascinating subject. All three books are beautifully designed and illustrated, and are written with unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and range.Pharmako/Poeia- Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft includes a new introduction by the author and as in previous editions focuses on familiar psychoactive plant-derived substances and related synthetics, ranging from the licit (tobacco, alcohol) to the illicit (cannabis, opium) and the exotic (absinthe, salvia divinorum, nitrous oxide). Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant's effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.The Pharmako series is continued in Pharmako/Dynamis (focusing on stimulants and empathogens) and Pharmako/Gnosis (which addresses psychedelics and shamanic plants).… (more)
User reviews
It's a really great read -- one part history lesson, one part poetry, one part witchcraft. Besides the usual suspects: alcohol (yeast), cannabis, tobacco and opium; there are scores of other plants most people know nothing about: Salvia Divinorum, Kava, Wormwood and more. Books like this could easily be bloodless, dry and tedious, but Pendell's presentation is thought-provoking, well researched and beautiful (the artwork) -- even humorous. Pendell has a really wry wit. He covers how various plants were used in folk medicine, ritual, and how they work into our mythology and continue to effect our social systems. Also included are: growing tips, preparation, recipes, dosage, and dangers.
Here's one area I don't often comment on: the layout. The way this book is designed makes it a pleasure to read AND allows easy-to-find access to topics should you choose to use it as a manual or recipe book. It also includes an extensive glossary, index, and resources.
Pharmoko/Poeia takes us