I love a book that makes me look at the world and my own way of thinking differently and this one definitely did that for me.

For such a small book Breaking Open the Head covers a lot of ground. Although I found the author's stories of psychedelic usage to be the most interesting part of the book the historical, botanical and psychological topics covered balanced the overall worth of the book. This is a great primer for anyone who wants to learn more about the potential for hallucinogens to "open doors" as well as Shamanism.

Good dive into the life of a psychonaut. Pinchbeck details his various experiences with psychedelics and delves into the "scene" as well as reviewing some relevant historians and philosophies surrounding the concept. Presenting the subject matter with personal anecdotes works well for the pace and allows Pinchbeck to easily keep the interest of the reader. There are also some titillating more far-out concepts explored.

It's a fun book. I enjoyed some of the commentary on his ventures into shamanic rituals and mind altering substances. He's well read on the pop-literature surrounding these drugs. His arrogance and unskeptical embrace of any and all spiritual practices got tiring, though. He makes comparisons between cultures that highlight a few similarities and brush a myriad of differences under the rug. The author also makes haphazard claims. No, Daniel, shamanism isn't a human universal. How could it be when none of the major religions of the world are shamanic in the classic sense? It's a ridiculous book, and impossible to take seriously.

The book started off well and I was interested in the subject matter that I didn't know anything about when I started reading. I also liked how each Part of the book was devoted to each entheogenic compound which made it easy for me to keep track of all of the different topics being covered.

I quickly found the book less interesting (I even started skipping whole paragraphs and sections) when what I thought would be a subjective recount of a man's experience with psychoactive substances but instead was presented with his Marxism and opinion of how capitalism is a force for evil in the world. Not only is that thesis demonstrably wrong, but it's a waste of my time (and money having purchased the book) to have to sit through that.

The book's tone then settles back into the journalistic retelling of his various adventures and chemicals that shamanic tribes have used which once again I found interesting.

But then Daniel decides to change the entire tone into a new-age, alien, morally relativistic nonsensical attributation to alien beings from other dimensions living and guiding humanity through magical plants. It's utter rubbish and a waste of time. The last two Parts of the book can be forgotten entirely.

Daniel's lack of skepticism in regards to his experience is the mark of a true buffoon. I agree with another reviewer in that Daniel likely had some kind of political motivation with this book to perhaps get more cred in his own New York scene. At least it reads like that.

This could have been a great book if Daniel had stuck with the subject matter at hand and left out the opinion on political theory and allusions to some alien reality that he supposes must exist.

Three stars for the parts that warrant it. One star for the rest.

I have long thought that if I were to experiment with any kind of drug it would be with hallucinogens. I like reading about trips and the rituals surrounding hallucinogens in various cultures throughout history. So when I saw this book at my local Barnes & Noble, I had to sit down and take sample.

The thing I liked most about this book is how Mr. Pinchbeck combines his sources - scholarly, historical, philosophical, esoteric and personal - and provides a much more detailed perspective on hallucinogens and the mystique surrounding them. He has interviewed people who have studied the compounds involved and have kept record of their apparent effects on the trip, and those insights tend to lead you much deeper into wondering why a natural compound provides a warmer, more nurturing trip while a man-made compound that is just one molecular step removed causes colder, hostile trips. He has delved into the culture surrounding hallucinogens - be it South American medicine brujos or Burning Man - and has found out what has drawn people from such varied social circles to the same place. Mr. Pinchbeck himself is a seeker, sharing his own experiences and reasons for seeking them out. He relates his experiences - trips good and bad - along with his perspectives on it, but expresses both his hypotheses and doubts, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.

I found this to be a very well-researched and balanced presentation of a sub-culture that has been much maligned since the 1960s. Anyone thinking about becoming a psychonaut would do well to give it a read.

What a wild journey it was

I spent New Year's Evening, until well after the new year's arrival, reading this, after hesitating given its mixed reviews. I'm glad I did, for within these pages by a "psychonaut," there's wisdom and hard thinking about not thinking about psychedelic experiences. The blend of the author's trips with a bit of travelogue and a lot of summations of both mainstream (if still marginalized) and fringe explanations for what happens under the influence works. What hobbled the progress was the constant harping about how bad Western materialism, globalised greed, and relentless distraction are. We all know this, but the jeremiads could have been cut down by 95%. There's clever insight throughout, but patience with the writer, who indeed can be a bit of a scold from a quintessential progressive New York intellectual milieu, is a prerequisite, as others have noted.

“In contemporary life we do whatever we can to deny intuition of the invisible realms. We clog our senses with smog, jam our minds with media overload. We drown ourselves in alcohol or medicate ourselves into rigidly artificial states with antidepressants. Then we take pride in our cynicism and detachment. Perhaps we are terrified to discover that our “rationality” is itself a kind of faith, an artifice, that beneath it lies the vast territory of the unknown.” — Daniel Pinchbeck, Breaking Open the Head (page 100)

A fantastic, well-documented, and enjoyable exploration of psychedelics and the supersensible realms into which they can catapult us. I’ve read other books about traditional medicines, shamanism, and related phenomena by shamans and scientists, but I relate more to author Daniel Pinchbeck, who begins this journey as a self-described cynical, intellectual atheist, struggling to find meaning in his existence. As a born skeptic, he asks good questions and explores many teachings, traditions, and myths of cultures along the way. By the end, he is far less jaded and open to new and unconventional ways of thinking—and so was I.

There's some stuff in here that totally resonates with me. There's other stuff that leaves me cold.

Other dimension? Sure, why not. Psychic vampires in other dimensions that want to such you dry. Hmm, maybe. We should break open our heads with the rock of heavy-duty drugs? Nah; leave that.

For a book that seems to be about 'knowing oneself' there are no real descriptions of that self (aside from one of being a TV that could only look at the room it was in). It's mostly just descriptions of visions of geometric shapes and elves of one sort of another. Again - nah!

And sure, I appreciate that Mr Daniel is a compelling writer and has many interesting things to say, but ultimately, I'm fine with my drug-free existence not to mention completely in awe of the dimension we live in. I mean: look at it. Wow!

Read this book if you're curious. Then put it down and go for a long walk by the river.

Eye opening and thought provoking. Some observations whether true or not, definitely resonated with me. The possibility that another dimension can exist and how it’s preached across various civilizations and races from ages when the world was still remote is surprising. The quest for spirituality should be normalized, whether they choose self destructing ways or remote cultural ways is upto the individual. Either way, you will be an outcast and is a journey off the mainstream.
This book is an account of various findings from other books as well as the authors personal adventures into these other worldly realms. This is a good passageway before diving deep into other books, that I can’t wait to read.

There are some interesting ideas in here, but the book itself is so scattered and unfocused that I can't help thinking Pinchbeck was too when he wrote it.