Drugs Forum - I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary

I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary
by John Higgs

The first few early reviews are starting to appear - expect many more reviews and links here over the coming months.

"Enthralling" - MixMag, June 06 (4 Stars)

"Excellent" - dailygrail.com

"Following the recent publication of Robert Greenfield's exhaustive account of Leary, British journalist John Higgs casts a cooler eye over the extraordinary life of someone who was much more than a turn on, tune in, drop out soundbite. More an engaging cultural history than a judgement on his personality, a sure-footed grounding for the mud-slinging that's sure to come when two planned biopics hit the screen." - Metro, June 28th 06 (4 stars)

"A remarkable account of a remarkable man" - reFRESH issue 39

"An absolutely fascinating book" - Robert Elms, BBC Radio London, 5th July 2006.

"You will not want to put this book down - full of unbelievable, gripping adventures - get it!" - Weed World, June 06

"[Leary] gave credibility to the psychology of postmodernism. Whether he was courageous or crackpot is a matter of opinion - he was always high entertainment." - The Times, 18th June 06

"an exhilarating read, a stellar piece of work, a must-have" - dogmatika.com

"a fascinating book about an extraordinary subject" - The Beat, May 06

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Synopsis

Timothy Leary was one of the most controversial and divisive figures of the twentieth century. President Nixon called him 'the most dangerous man in America.'

Hunter S. Thompson said that he was 'not just wrong, but a treacherous creep and a horrible goddamn person.' Yet, the writer Terence McKenna claims that he 'probably made more people happy than anyone else in history.'

A brilliant Harvard psychologist, Leary was sacked because of his research into LSD and other psychedelic drugs. He went on to become the global figurehead of the 1960s drug culture, coin the phrase "tune in, turn on and drop out", and persuade millions of people to take drugs and explore alternative lifestyles, yet, the tremendous impact of his 'scandalous' research has been so controversial that it has completely overshadowed the man himself and the details of his life.

Few people realise that Timothy Leary's life is one of the greatest untold adventure stories of the twentieth century. Timothy Leary led a life of unflagging optimism and reckless devotion to freedom. It was, in the words of his goddaughter Winona Ryder, 'not just epic grandeur but flat-out epic grandeur.'

Leary's life is undoubtedly one of the greatest untold adventure stories of the twentieth century and this book presents it for the first time in all its uncensored glory.