The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens

If you're interested and knowledgeable in chemistry and botany it is not a casual read. The bibliography is up to date for it's time. A good ancillary to Osmond and Hoffer's "The Hallucinogens" which offer's a more clinical.perspective. Schultes was a top researcher in his time. The photographs could have been better.

This is a great book, a useful source to find the basics to get a broad idea about the field. This book was written by two scientists who were celebrities each in their own right, Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hoffman; which is an unusual thing to say about a scientist, but nevertheless true. My copy was printed in 1980. We could use an updated version of this book but so far as I know, that does not exist. Any way it goes, this book is a classic and it is extremely interesting.

Written by the greats. Easy to read. Somewhat dated, but a seminal book.

Weighing in at just over 400 pages, this seminal work by Drs. Schultes and Hofmann is the definitive guide to hallucinogenic plant compounds. Detailed information is included about plant classification, chemical properties, and historical background concerning use. Although written in an academic tone, a book like this can't help but be interesting. Nevertheless, due to its overwhelming amount of information (and the expense and difficulty required to actually obtain a copy), it's probably best left to the most obsessed and/or diligent of psychonauts. For a less technical and more layman-friendly read, try Schultes/Hofmann's other book, Plants of the Gods.