Cyberpunks Cyberfreedom: Change Reality Screens

by Timothy Leary

This timely book, Timothy Leary's "cyberpunk manifesto," is his future-vision of the emergence of a new humanism with an emphasis on questioning authority, independent thinking, individual creativity, and empowerment via computers and brain technologies. Cyberpunks brings together some of Leary’s most provocative writings, along with selections from interviews and conversations with a variety of writers and thinkers. Individual chapters include “How I Became an Amphibian,” “Personal Computers; Personal Freedom,” and “Navigational Game Plane.” “How to Boot Up Your Bio-Computer” typifies Leary’s outrageous yet surprisingly grounded ideas, linking pagan, nature-based rituals with a “collective boot-up” of the brain through stimulation from certain natural plants. Together, these pieces describe a new breed of human being who embraces technology, uses it to revolutionize communication and evade and annoy Big Brother, while at the same time achieving personal success, attaining political power, and above all, having fun.

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2008

About the author

Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, modern pioneer and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD. He coined and popularized the catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

Reviews

[Alexander O. Smith]

Reading Timothy Leary is always a strange journey, so I guess that was expected. But this is more of a futurist read of a time already gone. So it's nice to read this and know it was actually happening at the writing of this work and after. Way too much LSD talk for the purpose of the book though. Way too much.

[PlaNT MAn]

A short book but it took a while to get through. Sometimes it felt very forward thinking, and then it would feel like it wasn't going anywhere. So while reading, i would go from being very interested to very bored in the span of a few pages. I think I'll read it again sometime in the future cause there is some good stuff in there .

[Giselle]

This is a repackaged edition of another Timothy Leary book. I should have just bought that one. This one has a cool cover though.