This Is Your Mind on Plants
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- Create Date：2021-07-07 03:18:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael Pollan
- ISBN：0593414217
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Summary
From number one New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan， a radical challenge to how we think about drugs， and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants--and the equally powerful taboos
Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， medicine， fragrance， flavor， fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So， then， what is a "drug"？ And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？
In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs--opium， caffeine， and mescaline--and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming （or， in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings？
In this unique blend of history， science， and memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively--as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。
Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， medicine， fragrance， flavor， fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So， then， what is a "drug"？ And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？
In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs--opium， caffeine， and mescaline--and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming （or， in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings？
In this unique blend of history， science， and memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively--as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。
Reviews
Kate: The Quick and the Read
，
As an avid reader of books about the Victorian era， I’m no stranger to opium – purely in the context of reading， you understand， rather than personal experience！ I am， however， a confirmed and accepting caffeine addict so this book – focused on opium， caffeine and mescaline – sounded absolutely fascinating。 I duly downloaded the audiobook and got stuck in…The book is divided into three sections， each focusing on one of the key plant-based drugs。 Although all of them were interesting in different As an avid reader of books about the Victorian era， I’m no stranger to opium – purely in the context of reading， you understand， rather than personal experience！ I am， however， a confirmed and accepting caffeine addict so this book – focused on opium， caffeine and mescaline – sounded absolutely fascinating。 I duly downloaded the audiobook and got stuck in…The book is divided into three sections， each focusing on one of the key plant-based drugs。 Although all of them were interesting in different ways， I did find this made for a slightly disjointed book and my thoughts on each separate element varied a lot。 This is especially true given that the three sections take very different approaches。 Pollan is a writer， keen gardener and – it transpires – quite willing to experience the effects of the various plants in the name of research！ The book， therefore， covers lots of bases， from science to history， gardening to memoir。The first section， on opium， charts his experiences with growing opium poppies and the rather ambiguous position regarding the legalities of this in America。 Indeed， a lot of this section is about the technicalities of growing opium in the eyes of the law – you can buy the seeds legally， but planting and harvesting them are much greyer areas。 Pollan engagingly asks the question about where the line between legal and illegal is drawn in an America which was just embarking on its experiences of the opioid Oxycontin – amateur gardeners may be getting in trouble for cultivating ‘papaver somniferum’ but the Sackler family were legally distributing the drug to millions。The section about caffeine was the one that I found the most interesting – I’m a fairly heavy user of coffee and Pollan’s insights into coffee withdrawal， effect on sleep and the morals of caffeine gave me plenty of food for thought。 I’d never even considered that caffeine really had a moral question， but Pollan’s focus on the ‘big picture’ was really interesting – the fact that caffeine is linked to productivity， breaks our circadian rhythms， plus has links to both slavery and Empire。 This bit of the book is packed with interesting historical information and opened my eyes to the impact of caffeine， such as the advent of coffee houses in the 17th century driving innovation and creativity。 From Voltaire consuming （reportedly） 72 cups of coffee a day to the fact that the modern sleep experts that Pollan spoke to drink none （hmm， slightly worrying for me…） – there was plenty to think about。The third section is about mescaline， a drug derived from cacti and used within Native American populations as part of their religious ceremonies。 This bit of the book is more memoir， with Pollan charting his own instances of using the drug and participating in traditional ceremonies using the hallucinogen。 I’m sure it is an interesting thing to experience， but the recounting of it is a little like the drug narratives of 1970s fiction which also didn’t really float my boat – it’s a bit like hearing someone recall their dreams in vivid detail。 Not always fun to listen to， although Pollan is an engaging tour guide regardless。The audiobook is narrated by the author himself， something I enjoyed as he is a lively and engaging reader。 It feels like a personal chat with him about his experiences with these plants and I did race through the book。 It is a very easy listen and I felt that I learnt lots from my knowledgeable and entertaining guide。Overall， I’d recommend this to anyone who has an interest in plants， medicine， history， law or who just fancies an interesting jaunt through a fascinating topic。 If I had one criticism， it is that it tries to be too many things – my personal preference is for the discursive and historical slant of the caffeine section of the book， but I am sure others will appreciate different aspects。 Well worth a read！With thanks to NetGalley for my review copy in exchange for my honest opinions。 。。。more
Lady Fancifull
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Gifts， challenges and chemistry in ‘humble’ plants: Teachers， enablers， punishersPollan is my favourite author on food， plants and more。 Always writing about far more than the superficial information on his subject matter， he explores， engagingly， creatively and deeply， the wider issues around his subject matterHe is a non-fiction writer who does something I always appreciate – explores his subject matter objectively， like the good journalist he is， but also personally engages with it， observing Gifts， challenges and chemistry in ‘humble’ plants: Teachers， enablers， punishersPollan is my favourite author on food， plants and more。 Always writing about far more than the superficial information on his subject matter， he explores， engagingly， creatively and deeply， the wider issues around his subject matterHe is a non-fiction writer who does something I always appreciate – explores his subject matter objectively， like the good journalist he is， but also personally engages with it， observing the effects of what he writes about， experientiallyIn this book – a kind of follow on to his decidedly trippy ‘How to change your Mind， the New Science of Psychedelics’ he looks in detail at 3 compounds naturally produced by palnts – opium， caffeine and mescaline。 Each belongs to a different class of ‘pharmaceutical psychological drug types – a sedative of the central nervous system/analgesic drug， a stimulant of the central nervous system， and a psychedelic。 Of the five botanicals which produce these compounds， 2 have complex relationships with legality – Papaver somnaferum， the Opium Poppy， and Lophophora williamsii the Peyote Cactus。 The third mind altering chemical which probably most of the world consumes without even thinking that their minds are under its influence， is found in three plants which have， or have had， major political， economic and ethical trading issues associated with their success – Coffea arabica， Camellia sinensis， Theobroma cacao。 Coffee， Tea， ChocolateHe is a keen horticulturist/gardener – in the section on Opium he explores the confusing and somewhat scary fact that the growth of an attractive plant in many gardens became illegal。 It is in some ways a dialogue between aesthetics and law enforcement。 The history of caffeine has of course been very successful for the plants which contain it – although at one time in the UK， coffee houses were seen as highly dangerous， because its denizens were often free-thinkers and seen as revolutionary seditionists。 Pollan is fascinating on the different cultural image associated with coffee and tea， the latter， taking route in the East as part of a spiritual practice， associated with meditation， grace and refinement – tea-drinking ceremonies， and， in the West， feminine gatherings， whilst coffee， with its higher quantity of stimulating caffeine supports the workings of capital – greater efficiency in the workplace！Finally， and the section probably which fascinated me most， because of the strange tension between ‘liberal views’ （which I hold） and the knotty issues of cultural appropriation， and the rights of indigenous people to the ownership of a plant which has sacred history for them – peyote， is an examination of mescaline。This section presents in some ways the starkest contrasts between the way other cultures have related to powerful plants which are approached with respect – this includes tobacco， and the misuse/abuse which results from cultures demanding more instant gratification， always， of everything。This particular section also， so powerfully linked to everything connecting to our stewardship – or lack of it – and relationship with the very fragile planet we inhabit， and those generations to come who need us to live rightly now， in order for them to live at all。Gratitude， always， for Pollan’s powerful writing， and thankyou to the publishers， and NetGalley for my digital ARC 。。。more
Amanda
，
In his latest book on the plant-people relationship， author， journalist and avid amateur gardener Michael Pollan turns his eye to the opium poppy， caffeine （derived from Coffea arabica） and mescaline （from the peyote cactus）。Each of these drugs are either， as he puts it， an upper， downer or 'outer'。 His exploration takes in their political and socio-cultural history， highlighting the arbitrary nature of their public reputation。 As ever， Pollan can't resist getting up close and personal with the In his latest book on the plant-people relationship， author， journalist and avid amateur gardener Michael Pollan turns his eye to the opium poppy， caffeine （derived from Coffea arabica） and mescaline （from the peyote cactus）。Each of these drugs are either， as he puts it， an upper， downer or 'outer'。 His exploration takes in their political and socio-cultural history， highlighting the arbitrary nature of their public reputation。 As ever， Pollan can't resist getting up close and personal with the plants。The author has an engagingly anecdotal writing style。The audiobook， narrated by Pollan， made me feel I was sharing a coffee with the author。Well produced and highly entertaining。My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for the ARC。 。。。more
Weston William
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I had three evictions late last year which deprived me from purchasing an apartment for my family and my other apartment was not conducive for my family anymore but I couldn't purchase any due to my low score so I decided to go online and search for a good hacker for help and that was how I met 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE for help， he’s a very good person and he explained how the hack will be helpful to me and to my greatest surprise he increased my credit score to 830 excellent plus and deleted the ev I had three evictions late last year which deprived me from purchasing an apartment for my family and my other apartment was not conducive for my family anymore but I couldn't purchase any due to my low score so I decided to go online and search for a good hacker for help and that was how I met 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE for help， he’s a very good person and he explained how the hack will be helpful to me and to my greatest surprise he increased my credit score to 830 excellent plus and deleted the eviction on my credit report without any delay during the hacking process。 I just moved in my new apartment with my family and I have no regrets working with 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE。 Hit him up through his email at 760pluscreditscore at gmail dot com or phone 304 774 5902。 。。。more
J。A。 Ironside
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Audio arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewMichael Pollan narrated his own audio and it worked really well。 When author's have decent voices and read well， it can work better than hiring a narrator since the author knows exactly the intonation and delivery they want and exactly how they want to convey the information。 Pollan was interesting to listen to and having him narrate his own book added a personal touch。 The book itself is fascinating。 I have a life long interest in Audio arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewMichael Pollan narrated his own audio and it worked really well。 When author's have decent voices and read well， it can work better than hiring a narrator since the author knows exactly the intonation and delivery they want and exactly how they want to convey the information。 Pollan was interesting to listen to and having him narrate his own book added a personal touch。 The book itself is fascinating。 I have a life long interest in plants （which resulted in a degree in plant biology and genetics）， though only a theoretical knowledge of psychotropic/ psychedelic plant substances！ My interest in plants was kindled as a very young child by my father - who clearly thought that if his children were going to roam wild in rural Dorset， they ought to know which plants were poisonous and which were safe if handled respectfully。 The idea that a plant could be a thing of beauty， a source of food， a source of medicine and an organism which helped renew the soil and assist the overall ecosystem took root early。 I'm not sure how Pollan got into plants but the way he speaks about them echoes my own feelings and thoughts。 There is as much poetry in the science when you know it as there is feeling in the poetry surrounding plants。 This book focuses on mind altering substances derived from prepared plants。 Pollan has not been shy about experimenting either - something which I have never really wanted to do。 Specifically， these substances change how you， the ingestor of said plant， perceive reality。 Weaving together strands of history， culture， law and religion， Pollan looks at the human fascination with being able to take short trips to Wonderland。 He does not obfuscate the perils nor does he downplay the benefits。 There's certainly a lot of evidence that psychedelics can assist with a number of mental issues such as PTSD and depression。 Finally， he discusses the questionable practice of making some plant substances illegal and calling them 'drugs' when very similar， potentially more harmful substances are manufactured， licensed and sold enriching Big Pharma。 The law around these substances is idiosyncratic， capricious and badly enforced。 And ultimately futile because it is a war on human desire。 While laws such as those that protect Native American rights with regard to Peyote must remain in place， other laws are somewhat asinine。 I am curious to find out what the corresponding situation is here in UK （although we don't really have the climate for growing Peyote！）Overall a fascinating book， told in an accessible and engaging manner。 Very enjoyable。 Highly recommend if you have an interest in this area。 。。。more
Kevin Morgan
，
Hi all， First of all you have to note that not all of those out there who pose to be hackers are real and from my experience， this job doesn’t come so cheap。 In a process of trying to get my credit repaired I fell into a fake person who helped worsened my problem， he took over $9，000 in bits this happened until I met this credit repair company known as HACK WEST， they have the best hackers out there。 Helped me fixed my credit with just little payment I made and I’m a lot happier now because my s Hi all， First of all you have to note that not all of those out there who pose to be hackers are real and from my experience， this job doesn’t come so cheap。 In a process of trying to get my credit repaired I fell into a fake person who helped worsened my problem， he took over $9，000 in bits this happened until I met this credit repair company known as HACK WEST， they have the best hackers out there。 Helped me fixed my credit with just little payment I made and I’m a lot happier now because my score moved from 509 to 789 thanks to WEST。 Here is the contact to reach out to them: HACKWEST@WRITEME。COM or +1 （424） 307 2638。 。。。more
Heather
，
a book full of facts， urban myths， history， culture and a lot of science。 The subject is three plant based drugs caffeine， opium and mescaline， whilst i understood the downside of a coffee habit but knew nothing about the other two。 except they are additive。 The author explained in a fairly simple language the science and agri science behind these plants。 A great deal of historical information relating to harvesting， export， demand， income and trends during the centuries。 Fascinating stuff and i a book full of facts， urban myths， history， culture and a lot of science。 The subject is three plant based drugs caffeine， opium and mescaline， whilst i understood the downside of a coffee habit but knew nothing about the other two。 except they are additive。 The author explained in a fairly simple language the science and agri science behind these plants。 A great deal of historical information relating to harvesting， export， demand， income and trends during the centuries。 Fascinating stuff and interested in reading more from this author。 Thank you #NetGalley for the audio book。 。。。more
Cecile
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I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own。In depth work of research done on 3 different plants that naturally produce opium， caffeine， and mescaline。 The subject is incredibly interesting and the information is there and as far as I could tell reliable and factual。 The only thing that makes me decrease my mark is that the book was written like a newspaper or magazine article， rather than what I envision being a science book。 There are a lot of personal I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own。In depth work of research done on 3 different plants that naturally produce opium， caffeine， and mescaline。 The subject is incredibly interesting and the information is there and as far as I could tell reliable and factual。 The only thing that makes me decrease my mark is that the book was written like a newspaper or magazine article， rather than what I envision being a science book。 There are a lot of personal stories about the making of this work and the author’s experience with each plant which I did not particularly enjoy at times。 。。。more
Georgina Collins
，
This Is Your Mind On Plants encouraged me to question the whole concept of what is and what isn't a drug。 It questioned how I see caffeine and opium， and introduced me to mescaline， which I wasn't aware of。 I was less keen on the opium section， although I still found it interesting; I found that there was a lot of discussion of what is and is not legal， when I was more interested in， for example， Pollan's experiments to grow the poppies and make an infusion， and his experience of drinking this， This Is Your Mind On Plants encouraged me to question the whole concept of what is and what isn't a drug。 It questioned how I see caffeine and opium， and introduced me to mescaline， which I wasn't aware of。 I was less keen on the opium section， although I still found it interesting; I found that there was a lot of discussion of what is and is not legal， when I was more interested in， for example， Pollan's experiments to grow the poppies and make an infusion， and his experience of drinking this， as well as the history of our relationship with opium。 I really enjoyed the section on caffeine， possibly because I am familiar with this and it is such an everyday drug， and this book really opened my eyes to the politics of caffeine。I was also surprised that there was not an epilogue of some kind to tie the three sections together。 。。。more
Jen Burrows
，
This is Your Mind on Plants is a thoughtful， informative exploration of three plants and their effects on the human mind， as well as our history， society and culture。It feels a little disjointed in places， reading more like three separate essays on a theme rather than cohesive long-form nonfiction， and I was a little confused at the absence of an epilogue to tie it all together。 But the individual sections themselves are interesting， and I enjoyed the blend of journalistic memoir， psychology and This is Your Mind on Plants is a thoughtful， informative exploration of three plants and their effects on the human mind， as well as our history， society and culture。It feels a little disjointed in places， reading more like three separate essays on a theme rather than cohesive long-form nonfiction， and I was a little confused at the absence of an epilogue to tie it all together。 But the individual sections themselves are interesting， and I enjoyed the blend of journalistic memoir， psychology and history。*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more
Nicola
，
I was definitely drawn in by the title here， as it seems such an interesting topic！ The subject matter was really interesting and I really liked how the author wrote this and weaved in a mix of personal experiences， scientific research and information about the plants and effects included throughout the book As there’s so many subsets and different things to talk about and potentially cover in this book， to whittle down the breadth of this field， the author split the book into three parts with o I was definitely drawn in by the title here， as it seems such an interesting topic！ The subject matter was really interesting and I really liked how the author wrote this and weaved in a mix of personal experiences， scientific research and information about the plants and effects included throughout the book As there’s so many subsets and different things to talk about and potentially cover in this book， to whittle down the breadth of this field， the author split the book into three parts with one plant dedicated to each。 Starting with Opiates， it’s history， relations to the law and its effects in part one， the book then goes into part two on caffeine （something I think most people will have a vested interest in！） and then reaching the third part on Mescaline。 My only small point is that the title might be a bit misleading as there’s less effect of these plants on the mind and neuroscience/ behavioural science than I was expecting but it was delved into on the caffeine chapter。 It was great to learn about the culture of caffeine and I really enjoyed learning more about this！I really loved hearing about the authors own encounters and experiences too。 And I also thought the covid and pandemic tie in within the third chapter was great as well！It was really interesting and worked well in audiobook format too。 I always love it when the author narrates their own books and this one was easy and effortless to listen to。 Plenty of interesting points and facts here: I’ve definitely come away knowing a lot more about this subject than when I started！ （Although frankly not hard as I self confess I didn’t know a lot to begin with- it was interesting to learn！）All in all， a good listen and of interest to anyone who would like to know more about these three important plants that can have such an impact。 Thank you to the author and publishers via NetGalley for this audiobook in return for my honest thoughts and review。 。。。more
Lee Lee
，
This is your mind on plants - Michael PollanWasn’t either good or bad。 In parts informative and cleverly written， just not my type of book。 Thanks for the opportunity to read this。
GONZA
，
tMore than the effects of caffeine， mescaline and opium， Pollan recounts their evolution and the history of their use by the first people who used them up to the present day。 Personally， I was a bit bored。Piú che degli effetti della caffeina， della mescalina e dell'oppio， Pollan ne racconta la loro evoluzione e la storia dei loro usi nei primi popoli che li usarono fino ai giorni d'oggi。 Personalmente mi ha un po' annoiato。I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review cop tMore than the effects of caffeine， mescaline and opium， Pollan recounts their evolution and the history of their use by the first people who used them up to the present day。 Personally， I was a bit bored。Piú che degli effetti della caffeina， della mescalina e dell'oppio， Pollan ne racconta la loro evoluzione e la storia dei loro usi nei primi popoli che li usarono fino ai giorni d'oggi。 Personalmente mi ha un po' annoiato。I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Rebecca Sims
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This is an informative， involved account of natural substances， where they come from and how we consume them。 It was well narrated and kept me interested in each subsequent chapter with its well written book。Many thanks to the author， publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest， unbiased review。
Aaron Akbar
，
At first glance this seems like a strange hodgepodge of information compared to his last books。 The book is separated into three parts。 The first， which was originally published as an article in the '90s， is about opium during the height of the drug war。 The second part， which was written a few years ago， is on caffeine and the interesting relationship we have between it and modern living。 And then finally， the last section is on mescaline， which was written during the pandemic。 Obviously all th At first glance this seems like a strange hodgepodge of information compared to his last books。 The book is separated into three parts。 The first， which was originally published as an article in the '90s， is about opium during the height of the drug war。 The second part， which was written a few years ago， is on caffeine and the interesting relationship we have between it and modern living。 And then finally， the last section is on mescaline， which was written during the pandemic。 Obviously all this is about drugs。 but just in hearing that， it seems hard to find what the through line would be。 In actuality the book is much more about the strangeness that occurs when you try to draw a hard lines of what's okay and what's not okay。 You have one drug that is totally outlawed， one that is never outlawed， and one that is only legal in religious settings。 At first it seems like these things would be really connected， but each drug has its own setting and character， and that comes through in the writing。 This is less a single book than it is a compilation smaller books around a common theme。 And it works really well！ Overall you get a good sense of the strange way we treat drugs in the modern age， as well as possible ways forward that both remove the stigma and allow for healthier use that both honors the individual and honors the cultures from which the drugs come from。 This is very fascinating read that would be fun to read alongside How to Change Your Mind。 。。。more
Kate Henderson
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**Listened to the audio book**What the hell was this book？ This book really wasn't what I was expecting。 I expected this book to be filled with more facts and science， but it felt almost like a memoir at times。 It felt very self indulgent on the author Michael Pollan's life。 I didn't really read the book to hear his life story。 I wanted to know more about the psychedelic properties and science of some of these plants - there wasn't enough of that。As a reader/listener in the UK I did feel that a **Listened to the audio book**What the hell was this book？ This book really wasn't what I was expecting。 I expected this book to be filled with more facts and science， but it felt almost like a memoir at times。 It felt very self indulgent on the author Michael Pollan's life。 I didn't really read the book to hear his life story。 I wanted to know more about the psychedelic properties and science of some of these plants - there wasn't enough of that。As a reader/listener in the UK I did feel that a lot of the book was very USA specific and not always totally relevant to me in the UK。 I didn't enjoy this read， and it certainly wasn't the book I was expecting。 。。。more
Verity Halliday
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This is your Mind on Plants is an。interesting book about three different plant-based mind-altering drugs。 The text is free ranging， covering many aspects of each substance， from the effect on the human mind to horticulture， to the vastly different government attitudes to each drug。 I found the analysis of the US government’s War on Drugs since the 1990s to be particularly interesting， as the author had quite a bit of first hand knowledge。 I appreciated the author’s commitment to his book which m This is your Mind on Plants is an。interesting book about three different plant-based mind-altering drugs。 The text is free ranging， covering many aspects of each substance， from the effect on the human mind to horticulture， to the vastly different government attitudes to each drug。 I found the analysis of the US government’s War on Drugs since the 1990s to be particularly interesting， as the author had quite a bit of first hand knowledge。 I appreciated the author’s commitment to his book which meant that he gave up caffeine for over a month， which is something I wouldn’t want to do myself！The audiobook was read by the author and I enjoyed his pleasant American accent and relaxed pace。 The only thing I missed from the audiobook was the footnotes。Thanks to the author， publisher and NetGalley for providing a pre-release copy of both the text and the audio in exchange for honest feedback。 。。。more
Janet
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Date reviewed/posted: June 26， 2021Publication date: August 5， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。 Plus it is hot as all heck and nothing is more appealing than sitting in front of a fan with a kindle。！I requested and receive Date reviewed/posted: June 26， 2021Publication date: August 5， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。 Plus it is hot as all heck and nothing is more appealing than sitting in front of a fan with a kindle。！I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， medicine， fragrance， flavour， fibre--surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So， then， what is a "drug"？ And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs--opium， caffeine， and mescaline--and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming （or， in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings？In this unique blend of history， science， and memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively--as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。I love how on "Murdoch Mysteries" and "Frankie Drake" that they speak of opium dens and how they are legal but that there is still a Temperance Union trying to rid the world of alcohol！ I live for my morning caffeine - it used to be tea but I took up coffee about 6 years ago。。。as long as it is a cold brew I love it。 Every day getting to and from work in this city I see the effect of narcotics （mostly opioids） so I am not a fan of letting those be had by everyone willy-nilly and most people don't have the ability to get mescaline which in the end， to me， is good。 Great。 Fantastic。 I had actually read a coworker's copy of this book when I was approved， so I was able to review it right away。 It is well written and easy to understand and I can see a lot of personal opinions being made and a lot of discussion about this book by people and book clubs。。。where we serve tea， coffee and wine。 I will recommend this book to friends， family， patrons， book clubs， and people reading books in the park as we do … I have had some of my best conversations about books down by the Thames！As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it ☕☕☕☕☕copy - https://www。facebook。com/janetsbookco。。。 https://www。facebook。com/janetsbookco。。。copy - https://janetcousineau。wixsite。com/we。。。 。。。more
Justin Hall
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What a wonderful and informed book。 Easily comprehensive and like so many other of his works dispells myths about plants and foods and our cravings or addictions to them。 I had read the Caffeine section but the begin on poppies and peyote at the end were really great。
Kristy
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