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Timothy Leary: A Biography
To a generation in full revolt against any form of authority, "Tune in, turn on, drop out" became a mantra, and its popularizer, Dr. Timothy Leary, a guru. A charismatic and brilliant psychologist, Leary became first intrigued and then obsessed by the effects of psychedelic drugs in the 1960s while teaching at Harvard, where he not only encouraged but instituted ...more
Paperback, 704 pages
Published
July 2nd 2007
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 2006)
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Having read many of Timothy Leary's books, as well as the "Flashbacks" auto-bio, I was initially excited to read this book.
Unfortunately, it seems as if Greenfield (who supposedly met Leary in 1970) was under contract to write a hatchet job. Leary's faults and foibles, of which he did seem to have many, get highlighted and his achievements deliberately get undermined or given back-handed praise.
I slogged through the whole book, but ultimately found it a bit depr...more
Unfortunately, it seems as if Greenfield (who supposedly met Leary in 1970) was under contract to write a hatchet job. Leary's faults and foibles, of which he did seem to have many, get highlighted and his achievements deliberately get undermined or given back-handed praise.
I slogged through the whole book, but ultimately found it a bit depr...more
Doctor Tim was certainly an amusing 60's character. The author treads a fine line, not to lionize Leary, who was a mess and frequently wrong but not to be overly critical of the man and his work. Worth a read and for you trivia buffs out there I never knew his ex wife was Uma Thurman's mother.
I never realized how reckless and unhinged Leary was, but this is still a fascinating tale of rebel-pioneer asea in a changing world. His insights into the psychology of the incarcerated seem perceptive.
The author almost comes across as looking down upon his subject as an amoral deviant but it's a fascinating enough read. I'm motivated to do more reading on relevant characters and philosophies glossed over in this book in order to reach my own conclusions. Dude lived a hell of a life...
only interesting in the fact that I recall a lot of the references
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I wish I could have met this guy. I knew about him and even read some of his books a few years ago. But this excellent biography introduced me to so much more. I will be picking up some of his books to read with a new perspective. He was dramatically wrong a lot, but at least he was trying with all he had. One of my favorite quotes before I read this bio. "Never trust a philosopher who hasn't been to jail." - TL
I learned that Timothy Leary was kinda like Uma Thurman's uncle. Thurman's mother, the model Nena, was briefly married in 1964 to Leary after the two were introduced by Salvador DalÃ; she married Thurman's father Robert Thurman, the first westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan buddist monk, in 1967.
I couldn't finish this it was so god awful. I don't know whether it was just Leary's reprehensibility itself or the very dry but very slanted style of the writing, but I was both bored and horrified all at the same time. But, I'm done.
Horrible book, very poorly edited. Focuses just on the negative aspects of Leary's life. Paints a completely different picture of Leary from the hundreds of interviews I've read.
Jl
marked it as to-read
Xfanatic50
marked it as to-read
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non-fiction-biography-or-memoirs
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