What do you think?
Rate this book
Tripping : An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures
Taking a balanced, objective approach, the book depicts a broad spectrum of altered states, from the sublime to the terrifying. Included are fifty narratives about unforgettable psychedelic experiences from an international array of subjects representing all walks of life. Supplemental essays provide a synopsis of the history and culture of psychedelics and a discussion of the kinetics of tripping.
592 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
21 people are currently reading
461 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 31, 2010
One of the things I've learned from psychedelics is that they have the ability to bring you face to face with death. Eyes open, unavoidable, unabridged death. As in, your own. Which makes the experience real in an undeniable way. Your own mortality dangled right in front of you, then chucked out the window.
Some of the best stories in this tripping anthology deal with death. One story that sticks with me is told by a Vietnam vet who after living through the reality of war--witnessing massive death and dying, and suffering multiple weapons-inflicted injuries--returns to the States to hitchhike back and forth across the country aimlessly lost in alienation and rage. But he was able to overcome many of the events of his traumatic past through peyote and LSD.
This is really encouraging. Many of these stories are. While some are enlightening, with others frightening, more than a few are down-right stupid. And still a number of these shared experiences ring true with some of my own--specifically the forced confrontation with death through ego dissolution. If done correctly, psychedelic compounds seem to unleash some of the strongest healing agents ever known.
In terms of pure reading, the thoughtful introduction and overall collection go a long way toward making this book both informative and fun (if maybe a little too heavy in its collection of LSD tales--I would have liked to read more accounts of peyote, salvia divinorum, and DMT, but I guess that's what the Erowid vaults are for). And certainly not least of all, the conversation with Terence McKenna at the end brings this ball of hyperspace explorations into focus like no one else I've ever come across.
Some of the best stories in this tripping anthology deal with death. One story that sticks with me is told by a Vietnam vet who after living through the reality of war--witnessing massive death and dying, and suffering multiple weapons-inflicted injuries--returns to the States to hitchhike back and forth across the country aimlessly lost in alienation and rage. But he was able to overcome many of the events of his traumatic past through peyote and LSD.
This is really encouraging. Many of these stories are. While some are enlightening, with others frightening, more than a few are down-right stupid. And still a number of these shared experiences ring true with some of my own--specifically the forced confrontation with death through ego dissolution. If done correctly, psychedelic compounds seem to unleash some of the strongest healing agents ever known.
In terms of pure reading, the thoughtful introduction and overall collection go a long way toward making this book both informative and fun (if maybe a little too heavy in its collection of LSD tales--I would have liked to read more accounts of peyote, salvia divinorum, and DMT, but I guess that's what the Erowid vaults are for). And certainly not least of all, the conversation with Terence McKenna at the end brings this ball of hyperspace explorations into focus like no one else I've ever come across.
September 6, 2007
Yes! A strong review of the psychadelic experience. No answers offered, just the personal accounts of fifty people from all walks of life. All ages- positive, negative, and undefinable experiences. More or less, "This is what happened to me when I took acid..." Also a nice history section. The cover makes this one of my favorite "coffee table books."
May 24, 2007
this is a good book to just pick up and read. you dont have to really read it from front to back either.. great complition of writings and experiences
December 22, 2025
Had some weird experience this year on psychedelics in which I saw from possessed people, to auras and most strange and terrifying, a train station partially full of authentic people and the other half of empty people, devoid of soul and purpose (zombie like)
I religiously avoid drugs, as I am scared of the stats that say 90% of institutionalised people are prior drugs consumers. Of course, as the book shows, not all drug consumers end up with a mental disease. But who wants to take the risk?
Extremely well documented book, written in an elevated tone (I even had to Google some words). The summary of what can be seen sits on page 30: “identification with external things microcosmic, macroscopic, loss of personal identity, visions of archetypal forms, deities and demons, and complex mythological sequences; time travel; clairvoyance and clairaudience”.
On page 32: “out of body experiences, divination and telepathy, magic and miracles panic attacks, psychosis”
This book confirmed that my visions were experienced by other people as well, except for the part where half of us are zombie like people (yikes!). Luckily, higher states of consciousness are achieved also with mediation and fasting, which is confirmed in the book as well. So no need to be exposed to the risks of psychedelics on the path of becoming spiritual.
On the other hand, these kind of experiences give such a nice purpose to life. Knowing there is something out there more than we can normally see, annihilates existentialism theories and gives in return the realisation that death is just the continuation of life but in another format. That silly projects at work, narcissistic people and love disillusions are nothing compared to the grand scheme of the universe. Life is truly beautiful!!!
I religiously avoid drugs, as I am scared of the stats that say 90% of institutionalised people are prior drugs consumers. Of course, as the book shows, not all drug consumers end up with a mental disease. But who wants to take the risk?
Extremely well documented book, written in an elevated tone (I even had to Google some words). The summary of what can be seen sits on page 30: “identification with external things microcosmic, macroscopic, loss of personal identity, visions of archetypal forms, deities and demons, and complex mythological sequences; time travel; clairvoyance and clairaudience”.
On page 32: “out of body experiences, divination and telepathy, magic and miracles panic attacks, psychosis”
This book confirmed that my visions were experienced by other people as well, except for the part where half of us are zombie like people (yikes!). Luckily, higher states of consciousness are achieved also with mediation and fasting, which is confirmed in the book as well. So no need to be exposed to the risks of psychedelics on the path of becoming spiritual.
On the other hand, these kind of experiences give such a nice purpose to life. Knowing there is something out there more than we can normally see, annihilates existentialism theories and gives in return the realisation that death is just the continuation of life but in another format. That silly projects at work, narcissistic people and love disillusions are nothing compared to the grand scheme of the universe. Life is truly beautiful!!!
June 27, 2019
While a trifle dated now (published in the early 2000s), this entertaining and sometimes harrowing collection of trip reports offers a smorgasbord of first time stories, bad trips, celestial journeys, and one really great interview with Terence McKenna. My big takeaway from the varied stories of tripping is that of the importance of education and harm reduction about psychedelic drugs (and all drugs, really), as so many of the scary experiences some of the writers endured could have been avoided if they'd just waited for the first dose to kick in, instead of getting impatient and taking more. And, as much as I still feel a weird contempt for McKenna, I found myself agreeing with him during his very cogent and eloquent interview with editor Hayes, completed just over a year before his death.
October 7, 2020
This book is a collection of people's psychedelic trip reports. The editor of this book, Charles Hayes, has a sententious, laboured and tedious style. Unfortunately, it looks like he heavily edited the other 50 stories as they all read the same. It's as if they had verbally reported their experiences to him and he had written them up. There's no sense that you're hearing 50 people's different stories or hearing genuine insights from different individuals.
Acid Test by Tom Shroder is better and more up to date.
Acid Test by Tom Shroder is better and more up to date.
May 3, 2021
The overwhelmingly Christian/ religious undertones of the majority of the accounts featured is beyond annoying. It seems obvious that Charles Hayes has an agenda and it definitely is pushed within the selections for this book. I say this with some solid experience with psychedelics; that by the end of this read I felt quite disenchanted. Perhaps one can only take so many anecdotes related to "becoming God" likely in some natural setting. Pretty boring.
October 25, 2019
This is an absolutely fantastic book. A collection of trip reports both good and bad, hellish and angelic, presented with little judgement or analysis. Should be in everyone interested in psychedelics' library.
August 1, 2009
I've never taken LSD, magic mushrooms, or any of the other similar drugs around which the experiences in this book centre. But for various reasons I was interested in reading this book, which collects positive, negative, and miscellaneous stories of hallucinogenic drug use. Most of the stories are told well in a matter-of-fact style. There are perhaps a few too many accounts of the 'dirty hippy dancing around naked in the mud' type. I would have liked to hear more accounts of people using drugs in clinical or ceremonial settings.
Maybe the most surprising story in here was by Robert Charles Wilson, if only because I somehow didn't realize until reading the entry that it is the same person who is the Torontonian science-fiction writer. I think a lot of these accounts a bit disturbing in the desperate way that the people desperately try to find some kind of shortcut to mystical enlightenment, and then sometimes get burned because of it. Some things are hard and require years of discipline for a reason.
Maybe the most surprising story in here was by Robert Charles Wilson, if only because I somehow didn't realize until reading the entry that it is the same person who is the Torontonian science-fiction writer. I think a lot of these accounts a bit disturbing in the desperate way that the people desperately try to find some kind of shortcut to mystical enlightenment, and then sometimes get burned because of it. Some things are hard and require years of discipline for a reason.
November 18, 2007
A book of tripping stories. Read this book before you decide to do psychedelics so you at least know what you are getting into :P. Interesting.
Currently reading
October 7, 2008I'm really enjoying this! I've never tripped before, but lots of my friends have, and overall it's an interesting look at drugs. Very well written.
July 25, 2011
Psychedelic adventurers recount their initial and most memorable experiences. More here than you ever might have expected.
November 10, 2022
These book are totally adictive
April 25, 2018
A serious anthology of all that is great, good and bad about psycho-active drugs.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews