Divine Rascal

by Andy Roberts

The true story of the life and works of Michael Hollingshead, the man who, by some accounts, introduced Timothy Leary to LSD, helped make the drug popular in London, and pursued other psychedelic adventures.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear account, given the erratic life of the subject, of the unlikely career of Michael Hollingshead, "the man who turned on the world." In other works about his era, Hollingshead appears as a will-o-wisp, here turning Tim Leary on, there feeding acid to Donovan, dosing a Russian agent in a British jail. He shows up, in fact, in so many episodes of mid-century psychedelic history that he appears almost mythical. This book pretty effectively deflates the myths, revealing Hollingshead as occasionally brilliant, influential, and charismatic, but ultimately a con-man who used and abused almost everyone whose path he crossed. It's a sad story but also an illuminating history of its times and the insanity that characterized acid culture, though it also does a fair job of showing the positive effects of LSD on western consciousness and culture.

The only thing I would like to have seen more of is an examination of exactly why so many people seem to think Hollingshead was a spook of some sort, one of the minor mysteries that seem to cloud around the dark edges of the 60s and 70s counterculture. Roberts does a fair job of deflecting the accusations and indeed it's tough to imagine any competent intelligence outfit, British or American, employing so damaged an agent, but I was left with the feeling that the subject had been given a shrug rather than a proper discussion.

[Stewart Home · Rating 5 out of 5]

A psychedelic life that pops up in all sorts of histories of the sixties but covered in depth here and it world appear reliably for the first time. I found the post 72 stuff most interesting because that is less covered... although there were a few incidents from earlier on I didn't know.... like the Dominic Cummings style drive around Durham and beyond.... but years before. Shows how much you can illuminate the acid culture from going in with a less obvious angle... Now looking forward to books from Roberts on Victor James Kapur and Brian Barrit among others! Some great quotes that really told me a lot about some people - most jaw dropping was one from Kristof Glinka about the Death card in the tarot page 216, which shows up how literal his understanding is and his complete lack of insight into tarot.

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting peek into the life of an important countercultural figure. However

About halfway through, I thought 'why is he writing about this objectionable wife-and-child-beating, child-neglecting asshole conman?'

The afterword does go over possible causes of the less-than-divine rascal's destructive side though, and shows that the writer himself at points wondered if he should give up telling Hollinghead's tale.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic insight into the minds behind the counter culture from the 1960’s and how it all came about. Andy Roberts did a great job at putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to tell such an interesting story.

[Trace Reddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had come across Michael Hollingshead's name in various histories of the original psychedelic era and its legacy into the early 1960s. Andy Roberts' book is the first solid biography of Hollingshead, and it provides a penetrating, sometimes humorous, oftentimes harrowing, account of Hollingshead without dispelling the myth and mystery. The near-devastating impact Hollingshead had on many of those he was connected to, especially the various women in his life, was heartbreaking at times, and I ended up both amazed and distressed. Ultimately, I was left wondering whether the shaman and the confidence trickster aren't in fact that different, and it was clearly evident that our psychological make-up and struggles influence our lives and relationships far more than any psychedelic events or insights.