Albion Dreaming: A Popular History of LSD in Britain

by Andy Roberts

Light wear to cover. Orders received by 3pm Sent from the UK that weekday.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Drugs

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Stewart Home · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roberts covers a lot of ground as he details Albionic acid culture from the early days until now... The sweep is impressive but he also provides lots of interesting details. There is material in here that doesn't seem to have been discussed outside very select circles in recent years - the Ladbroke Grove drugs and magic scene (first spliff, then acid) around THE original mod Terry Taylor (the model for the narrator of Absolute Beginners - and the first British writer to mention LSD in a novel, his 1961 cult classic Baron's Court, All Change); not to mention stuff on the Victor James Kapur acid manufacturing bust (north London 1967, the first such bust after criminalisation). There's also the inside dope on military research with LSD, medical uses and the free festival scene. So all in all essential reading for anyone wanting to know about the impact of LSD on Albion....

Outside of newspaper reports at the time, the Kapur bust seems to have been first covered in an essay I did for the book "Summer of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis and Counterculture in the 1960s" edited by Christoph Grunenberg and Jonathan Harris (Liverpool University Press and Tate Liverpool, 2005). Roberts expands on my Kapur material in his book - but if you want to see a revised version of my original essay (that covers a lot more than Kapur), then go here: http://www.stewarthomesociety.org/pra...

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Roberts documents the history of LSD from it's discovery in the 1940's, through the involvement of MI5 and the M.o.D. and out into the counterculture of the sixties to the present day. Although a history of acid in Britain, this book should be of interest to readers outside U.K. A controversial subject covered intelligently, makes a very fascinating read. (Oh, and I contribute to the book as well)

[Bill Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lysergic acid diethylamide-25 is a wonderful, powerful, mysterious (and for some unfortunate trippers, dangerous) compound. In Albion Dreaming Roberts takes the reader on a fascinating voyage from Hoffmann's synthesis of LSD in 1938 and his first trip in 1943 in Switzerland to the first time it was used in Britain. From there, he delves into the various ways researchers used it, for both medical and military purposes, and then goes on to deal with its dissemination amongst certain elements of society at large, the ensuing explosion of consciousness expansion and how it came to change (yes - really) the world, arguably for the better. Roberts tells us how acid influenced artists, musicians, writers, ecologists and those involved in psychology and spirituality and how LSD-inspired imagery has been, and still is, used in art, the music industry, fashion and advertising.

This is backed up by meticulous research (although Leary was a psychologist not a psychiatrist as pointed out in another review), interviews with many of the key players and is skilfully set within the context of British culture and politics over the past six decades.

He investigates acid-related conspiracy theories involving the CIA and the British Establishment, the free festival era, the motivations of chemists and distributors and many other psychedelic topics. We are introduced to acid's proponents and its detractors (this latter category being, principally, the gutter press with its witch-hunt that, hilariously, turned tens of thousands on to its use and, tragically, persuaded the Establishment to make it illegal). Happily, after becoming outlawed, acid continued to thrive, returning to the streets in greater quantities than when it was legal, flooding the country and providing the basis for a robust counterculture that exists to this day.

Albion Dreaming is an intelligent, entertaining, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable read, packed with interesting facts and anecdotes. Possibly because Roberts adopts a serious tone in which to deliver this 'popular history of LSD', his droll wit and dry humour appear all the more pronounced, especially when it seems the facts before him are so ridiculous that they surprise him (and his readers) into laughter!

After many largely unsuccessful attempts to wipe LSD from the face of the land, the jackboot of the Establishment finally came down bearing the name 'Operation Julie', its purpose being to eradicate LSD manufacture and distribution in Britain. Roberts deals with this story in some depth and it is fascinating. (I recommend reading Leaf Fielding's To Live Outside the Law: Caught by Operation Julie, Britain's Biggest Drugs Bust and Lyn Ebenezer's Operation Julie: The World's Greatest LSD Bust in conjunction with this account.) Questions are raised. What comes over strongly is the overwhelming ignorance of the Establishment, the police, the press and the judiciary. It makes a chilling contrast with what appears to be a tacit tolerance for dealers and gangs involved in the proliferation of 'hard' drugs such as heroin and crack. Could this be because acid experiences encourage the tripper to question everything, the social order, the 'Flour Grader' culture, maybe turn their backs on it? Or is it because the black economy of hard drugs eventually filters billions of pounds back into the white economy? One thing's certain: cocaine hydrochloride and diacetylmorphine don't challenge the status quo.

This is not an academic work - the clue's in the subtitle - but it contains enough good juice to satisfy the discerning reader. The fact that Andy Roberts is firmly on the pro-acid side of the fence is a plus. I floated through the pages of Albion Dreaming, identifying the points where the unfolding story of LSD in England touched my own life (see Trippers) and was moved by it.

Essential reading. Highly recommended.

[Isham Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful addition to the growing bookshelf of LSD history.

[Andy Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albion Dreaming is the British answer to Jay Stevens' Storming Heaven - the definitive account (for me, anyway) of phsychedelica across the Atlantic. The story of LSD in popular culture is primarily an American tale with American protagonists (Leary, Casey, Owsley), and Roberts' Albion Dreaming doesn't have the epic scale and sense of 'History in the Making' that drives the compelling narrative of Storming Heaven. But because LSD's journey into British culture is a far more clandestine affair, it makes Albion Dreaming if anything a more interesting book to read, simply because the story is a path far less trodden than that of the 60s counterculture in the USA.

It turns out that the story of LSD's introduction in Britain is remarkably similar to the American version of events. It was firstly used in phsychoanalysis in the 50s, then tested by the military as a potential Cold War weapon, before making it's way into the British counterculture at roughly the same time as it did in the States (and made illegal within a few months of each other).

But this is a story with a uniquely British flavour (during the Porton Down tests on volunteers from the armed forces, the drug was dissolved in water and served to the soldiers with the words 'bottoms up'), and what Andy Roberts does well is to focus his narrative on how LSD was used and perceived strictly within the social and political climate in Britain, no matter how distracting all the weird and wonderful goings on across the Atlantic must have been.

Of course some of the primary characters in the LSD story were Englishmen, but I was glad that the author didn't focus too much attention on the likes of Aldous Huxley - whose part in the LSD story is well documented elsewhere (not least in his own 'Doors of Perception') - instead concentrating on the lesser known - but equally colourful - movers and shakers in the emerging phsychedelic scene, such as the sinister Michael Hollingshead (who gave Timothy Leary the gift of his first acid trip), Ronnie Sandison (pioneer of LSD in psychoanalysis in the 1950s), Wally Hope (anarchic free festival organiser) and (al)chemist Richard Kemp.

In the end the British story of LSD comes over as a tale of good intentions - the efforts of well meaning, open-minded people to 'turn on' the nation and make positive change - in the face of an Establishment that never took the time to properly understand the drug and it's potential.

Exceptionally well researched, and written in a style that's easy to read and understand - whether you've ever dabbled with the drug in question or not, this is a fascinating, and well told story.

[S.P. Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the books I read alongside the writing of my book "I'm a 60 Year Old Woman: How Did That Happen?" Albion Dreaming is an historical account of the rise of LSD consumption in Britain; how it was introduced into Britain in the 1950s and its use by the Ministry of Defence as some kind of weapon! Andy Roberts writes vividly about the 1960s counter culture, the busts by the police, the misleading reports by the media about LSD and of course, how intellectuals like Dr. Timothy Leary believed it was a drug that had the power to change the world for the better.

If you are an old hippy like me who lived through the 1970s in particular, who spent many a happy weekend in fields of cow pats, cloaked in velveteen idealism and a belief that music, peace and love could change the world, you will enjoy this book. Andy Roberts has an easy style of writing and he writes with authority on a social and historical phenomena that had the Home Office deeply worried at the time.

[Tiago F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Roberts gives a very in-depth history of LSD in Britain, from the very beginning up to now. Very well written and researched, hard to imagine being better. It's a bit long, and due being very heavy in history, it gets a bit tedious sometimes, so it's definitely not a casual read.

I wouldn't recommend as an introductory book on this topic. It's of the most benefit for those who already have a basic knowledge of the topic and want to know more about how LSD progressed culturally and politically in Britain, and how that influenced how it's perceived today.

This book merges well with Acid Dream: The Complete Social History of LSD. Together, they give a very insightful account of everything related to LSD, as the US and Britain were the two main stages of the counter-culture of the 60s.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about the use of the drug LSD in the UK. It's well written apart from Chapter 11 which deals with the police action "Operation Julie" which I found quite confusing. One has to wonder how LSD became an illegal class A drug despite there being little evidence that it was harmful and why such savage prison sentences were given to the people who manufactured it.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally misty-eyed but always interesting account of the history of LSD in Britain. As an editor, I felt this book could have used another proofread or two - a few typos and odd punctuation choices set my pedantic nature on edge. Best bits undoubtedly the author's recollections of the 1970s squat and free party scenes, alongside the details on the Operation Julie raids which were new to me.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read