High Society: The Central Role of Mind-Altering Drugs in History, Science and Culture

By Mike Jay

Park Street Press

One of my favorite books about psychedelics was the now out-of-date Psychedelics Encyclopedia by Peter Stafford. I bring that book up because it was one of those go-to reference books that was actually entertaining and fun to read. The kind of book you find yourself randomly dipping into over the months just for fun and edification. Mike Jay’s High Society is in that same vein. Its thesis (that our society has always and will continue to interface with psychedelics) and research are impeccable; its presentation of the facts and supporting evidence are articulate and intelligent. But the sizzle is how the narratives and discourses that Jay delves into (he leaves little unturned; from the Opium Wars to Freud and cocaine, to every drug subculture known) are given great visual treatments—think all the flair of a coffee table book minus five pounds. Accompanying Jay’s citations and historical accounts are archival photographs, sketches, paintings and other images that buttress this volume’s status as a solid, engrossing read. (Michael Carlos)