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Full title The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna [permalink]
Language English
Author Dennis McKenna (author)
Publisher Polaris Publications
Categories Autobiography, biography, drugs and memoir
Publication year 2012
ISBN 978-0-87839-637-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Synopsis

This book is a biography of Terence McKenna, an autobiography of his brother (the author, Dennis McKenna), and a memoir of their life and ideas together. It's a very personal book, and Dennis doesn't shy away from describing all sorts of details (embarrassing or not) of their lives.
Review

I found this book immensely interesting. At times a little slow and at times a little dryly written, it's nevertheless an engaging story and one which I think anyone interested in Terence McKenna's life and ideas should read, if only to get another perspective on some of his life's key events (I'm thinking particularly of what they call the Experiment at La Chorrera which is also chronicled in Terence's book True Hallucinations). Of the two brothers, Dennis is definitely the more down-to-Earth, although he's not lacking in wild ideas and far out speculations. If you're looking to hear the other side of the story of Terence McKenna's life, this is it!
Images Front of The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • Foreword
  • Preface

Part One - Beginnings

  • Chapter 1 - Beginnings
  • Chapter 2 - Three Sisters
  • Chapter 3 - Roots and Wars
  • Chapter 4 - Terry and Denny
  • Chapter 5 - Happy Day Rides
  • Chapter 6 - The Nobody People
  • Chapter 7 - The Collector
  • Chapter 8 - Flying, Fishing, and Hunting
  • Chapter 9 - Goodbye to All That
  • Chapter 10 - The Big Picture
  • Chapter 11 - First Loves: 1962
  • Chapter 12 - The California Crusade
  • Chapter 13 - The Experimental College: 1965
  • Chapter 14 - Cannabis: 1966
  • Chapter 15 - The Tutor
  • Chapter 16 - A Psychedelic Education
  • Chapter 17 - Mapping Inner Space: Carl Jung
  • Chapter 18 - The Ladders of Ecstasy: Mircea Eliade
  • Chapter 19 - Summer of Love: 1967
  • Chapter 20 - The Secret Encountered
  • Chapter 21 - The Stoners' Revenge
  • Chapter 22 - My Datura Misadventure
  • Chapter 23 - Escape from Mordor: 1968
  • Chapter 24 - The Church Lawn Bunch
  • Chapter 25 - Busted Again: 1969
  • Chapter 26 - Girl with a Gun: 1970

Part Two - Into the Abyss

  • Chapter 27 - The Brotherhood Forms
  • Chapter 28 - Our Mother's Death
  • Chapter 29 - A Narrow Passage: 1971
  • Chapter 30 - On the Edge of the Abyss
  • Chapter 31 - The Experiment at La Chorrera
  • Chapter 32 - Waiting for the Stone
  • Chapter 33 - The Bell Tower and a UFO
  • Chapter 34 - Reflections on La Chorrera

Part Three - Invisible Landscapes

  • Chapter 35 - Invisible Landscapes
  • Chapter 36 - The Timewave
  • Chapter 37 - To See the Great Man
  • Chapter 38 - Fun with Fungi: 1975
  • Chapter 39 - A Lab in Paradise
  • Chapter 40 - In the Trenches
  • Chapter 41 - An Encounter with Ayahuasca
  • Chapter 42 - The River of Poisons
  • Chapter 43 - Adulthood and its Victims
  • Chapter 44 - The Plant Teachers: 1985
  • Chapter 45 - The Perpetual Postdoc
  • Chapter 46 - Climbing the Vine: 1991
  • Chapter 47 - New in Town
  • Chapter 48 - The Bard in Light and Shadow
  • Chapter 49 - A Desperate Situation
  • Chapter 50 - Into the Fire
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgments
  • Patrons
  • Bibliography
  • About the Author
Full title The Genesis Generation [permalink]
Language English
Author Lawrence Hagerty (author)
Categories Drugs and memoir
Online version Link
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  1. Awakening in Palenque
  2. Depression in Dallas
  3. Amazement in Amsterdam
  4. Confrontation in Viet Nam
  5. Stranded in San Francisco
  6. Ecstasy in Dallas
  7. Midwest Memories
  8. San Fransisco Seminar
  9. Caitlín's Salon
  10. Rindy's Place
  11. Burning Man
  12. Long Beach Interlude
  13. The Wizards' Council
  14. A West Coast Drive
  15. Mountain Top Farewell
  16. Freedom's Promise
Full title The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts [permalink]
Language English
Author Maxine Hong Kingston (author)
Publisher Vintage Books
Category Memoir
Publication year 1989
Original publication year 1975
ISBN 978-0-679-72188-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]
Pages 209
Synopsis

This book is part-novel and part-autobiography, interspersed with Chinese folktales. It describes life for a Chinese-American woman living in California.
Review

The style of the narration (with fantastic tales woven seamlessly into the main autobiography) was at first a little confusing, but one soon gets used to it, and then the book becomes a delight to read. I can definitely recommend it, though I prefer the more traditional form of autobiographical writing.
Images Back of The Woman Warrior.Spine of The Woman Warrior.Front of The Woman Warrior.
Structure [Toggle visibility]
  • No Name Woman
  • White Tigers
  • Shaman
  • At the Western Palace
  • A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe

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