Why am I passionate about this?
I’ve always craved outdoor adventure. My earliest preschool memories include frog hunting in the fields behind my house, and careening down hills around the neighborhood on my metal-wheeled skateboard. In middle school, I progressed to BMX, spearfishing and surfing. After college, I added snow and water skiing, windsurfing, and eventually mountain biking to the mix, and was fortunate to have a career that allowed time and resources to travel the world extensively seeking adventure. Now well into my sixties, I research and write about science, extreme sports, nature and philosophy in between daily hikes and mountain bike rides around the homebase and monthly journeys to destinations unknown.
Robert's book list on peak and transformative human experience
Why did Robert love this book?
To understand our motivations, I believe we first need to understand our minds. For decades, I have studied books from authors like Richard Dawkins, E.O. Wilson, Steven Pinker, and other science writers to help me better understand our evolutionary past. From there, I expanded into books about cutting-edge neuroscience that are accessible to laymen (such as myself).
Finally, I discovered this book, written by one of the best immersive investigative journalists alive today. It delves into our species’ long history of ingesting psychedelic drugs to engender transformative experiences and how today, using tools of neuroscience and medicine, these substances (administered in the proper set and setting) can help us better understand ourselves and our place in the world.
4 authors picked How to Change Your Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series!
"Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured." -New York Times
A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book
A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such…