Description

‘Entertaining’ The Times

‘Utterly fascinating and illuminating’ Sinclair McKay

‘Fascinating… An astonishing read, with remarkably vivid protagonists’ Harald Jahner

‘Ohler weaves a masterful tapestry of history in this revealing and fresh account’ David de Jong

Berlin, 1945. Following the fall of the Third Reich, drug use – long kept under control by the Nazis’ strict anti-drug laws – is rampant throughout the city. In the American sector, Arthur J. Giuliani of the nascent Federal Bureau of Narcotics is tasked with learning about the Nazis’ drug policies and bringing home anything that might prove ‘useful’.

Five years later, Harvard professor Dr Henry Beecher begins work with the US government to uncover the research behind the Nazis’ psychedelics programme. Originally created for medical purposes by Dr Albert Hofmann, the Nazis coopted LSD to experiment with mind control and find a ‘truth serum’ – research that the US, particularly the CIA, is desperate to acquire.

Based on extensive archival research, Tripped is a wild, unconventional post-war history, a spiritual sequel to Norman Ohler’s bestselling Blitzed. Revealing the hidden connections between the Nazis and the CIA’s notorious brainwashing experimentation programme, MKUltra, Ohler shares how this secret history held back the therapeutic research of psychedelic drugs for decades as the West sought to turn LSD into a weapon.

Publisher Review

Utterly fascinating and illuminating. In tracing the curious origins of LSD as a drug and as a cultural phenomenon – a compulsive maze-like trail that takes in obscure Swiss institutes, the rise of Nazi Germany, the philosophy of brainwashing, CIA conspiracies, the White House and Elvis Presley – Norman Ohler also cleverly throws fresh light on the Cold War that dominated the late twentieth century: a global struggle for psychological supremacy and psychic liberation. On top of all this, his storytelling is not only beguiling but – by the end – profoundly moving as well. It is possible that LSD will have a part to play in all our medical futures: this gripping and deeply felt book will tell you why — Sinclair McKay, author of Berlin A fascinating book about the battle for LSD, which shines a light on the relationship between antagonistic powers, secret services and the medical industry. An astonishing read, with remarkably vivid protagonists. — Harald Jahner, author of Aftermath In this superb sequel to Blitzed, Tripped is a riveting and witty book about the obscured history of LSD. From the Swiss scientist and corporation that created the powerful hallucinogenic, the Nazis, G-men and spooks that criminalized the chemical to the current boom in psychedelic research and startups: Tripped shows the awesome power of acid. Meticulously researched and deeply personal, Norman Ohler weaves a masterful tapestry of history in this revealing and fresh account — David de Jong, author of Nazi Billionaires A brilliant expose of how Dr Albert Hofmann’s epic discovery of LSD got lost in the ensuing war on drugs and the corollary, its misuse for mind-control, that hurt him personally and has hampered investigation into the potential therapeutic and spiritual benefits of the pharmaceutical — Professor Carl Ruck, author of The Road to Eleusis Norman Ohler’s fascinating study involves Nazis, the CIA, and LSD in an engaging narrative that provides a mind-altering history of “brain warfare” and exposes the Cold War psychedelic fantasies of many within the US scientific and intelligence communities. A must read for those interested in understanding the apocalyptic mindset of the nascent superpower rivalry — Edward B. Westermann, author of Drunk on Genocide With cracking prose, Norman Ohler’s Tripped is high-octane history writing, rich in acidic humour. You’ll be in ecstasy — Joseph Pearson, author of My Grandfather’s Knife “Nazis, Big Pharma, and American special agents, oh my!” Ohler takes the reader on a journey down some of the lesser-known dark alleys of psychedelic history. From promising medical treatment to weapons of war and criminal nuisance and back again, Tripped recounts some of the hidden origins behind the rise and fall (and subsequent rebirth) of research into LSD and similar substances. An engrossing read, full of mystery and intrigue. — P.W. Barber, author of Psychedelic Revolutionaries Fleet-footed and propulsive… Brilliantly sifting a massive history for its ideological through lines, this is a must-read. * Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) *