Tentatively, Convenience's Reviews > get the buzzzon

When I was 17, in 1971, I started hitch-hiking around North America - mainly in the US. When I had just turned 19, in 1972, I hitch-hiked across the US for the 1st time. I took no sleeping bag, probably didn't have more than $20 (at most), took no other things to carry & wore scant clothing - my only jacket being a light rain poncho. It was probably around this time, when I visited an acquaintance rock musician in Colorado, that I was given this bk.

Receiving it as a gift while a traveller, a seeker of sorts, was the perfect way of being introduced to the knowledge it contained. By receiving it, I was immediately introduced into a sacred society (not exactly a secret one). The bk, while imbued w/ 'hippie' philosophy, is by no means flaky. The people who wrote it have a clear knowledge of plants. At the back there's a glossary of botanical names. The subjects covered are: Angelica, Aphrodisiacs, Arthritis, Astral Travel, Birth Control, Blood Purifiers, Caves, Datura, Dope Butter, Ginseng, Hashball, Hemlock, Indians, Liquid Hash, Magic Beans, Marijuana, Medicine, Mexican Hash, Mexico, Mushrooms, Peyote, Prayer, Rattlesnakes, Roots, Shamanism, Spirits, Stronger Dope, Tobacco, Yarrow.

On page 63 is written: "The old people say every plant has a Spirit behind it. If the Spirit likes you it will help you. If it doesn't like you, better not monkey around with that plant." It's that sort of thinking that really stuck w/ me w/ this bk. Advice is given about being sensitive to whether a mushroom wants you to pick it or not. If it doesn't, stay away! Ridiculous as this may sound to people not inclined to animist philosophy, I'm in agreement w/ it. Cynical urban meat eater that I am. I've taken peyote & mushrooms & I can safely claim that my experience is that something happens that resembles interfacing w/ plant consciousness. Make of that what you will.

This bk is full of good practical knowledge & down-to-earth stories of the providers of this knowledge. There're excellent drawings of plants making plant identification easy. Even as a 'freak' teenager I was a bit turned off by the 'hippie' look of the bk but there's no doubt that the people who created it were sincere researchers of human relations w/ plants. & it's not irresponsible, it advises & stresses caution. All in all, an excellent bk.