Non-Anglo Entheography: Mini-Reviews of Non-English Publications
Jonathan Ott

While we can be grateful that there is again considerable publishing activity on the subject of shamanic inebriants in the United States - severally by academic presses, small presses [with numerous self- publishers], major trade-book houses - many books are being published in languages other than English, scarcely coming to the attention of aficionados in this country. There are welcome signs of the return of the 'drug book' section to the bookstores of the land - rudely displaced by a riot of substance abuse [sic] self-help manuals in the 1980s - and their ranks would swell, were English editions of Spanish, Italian, German, French and Portuguese books on this subject published. This in turn would stimulate the writing of more such books in other countries, by giving their authors access to the large and lucrative United States market, in which, moreover, direct marketing allows more opportunities in niche- markets or non-mainstream subject areas. Accordingly, in hopes of alerting would-be translators or publishers [and readers, too!] to promising non-English publications, I will contribute periodic columns with mini-reviews of titles I think are especially valuable and interesting. Where possible, I will include all salient ordering information, to facilitate their direct and expeditious acquisition.

Spanish originals

Historia Elemental de las Drogas [Elementary History of Drugs], Antonio Escohotado, 1996. Editorial Anagrama [Pedró de la Creu, 58; 08034 Barcelona, Spain]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 84-339-0526-0; 244 pp.; 22 pp. index. This is a radical condensation of Escohotado's best-selling 1299-page, 3-volume Historia General de las Drogas. Since public-school education here all but assures a lifelong aversion to history, perhaps his big gun has little commercial prospect this side of the Atlantic; whereas this condensation with an excellent index fills the bill. This is a lively and well-written look at the history of drugs from pre- and proto-history through classical times to the Pharmacratic Inquisition, both ancient and modern, with special attention to the history of drug prohibition, which the author knows all-too-well, having written much of the longer book in prison on a drug charge.

Aprendiendo de las Drogas: Usos y Abusos, Prejuicios y Desafíos [Learning from Drugs: Uses and Abuses, Prejudices and Challenges], Antonio Escohotado, 1995. Editorial Anagrama. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISBN 84-339-1441-3; 250 pp.; 7 pp. index. A revised and updated version of a book which has had two previous iterations [El Libro de los Venenos of 1990 and Para Una Fenomenología de las Drogas of 1992], this is the inveterate epicure's guide to the pharmacological pleasures, based largely on rather extensive psychonautic bioassays by the author, whose assiduousness in this regard I have personally observed. Commencing with an objective look at dependency and toxicity, defining precisely what constitutes a drug, and rounded out with historical and ethnopharmacological background information, Escohotado decribes the uses and effects of the full gamut of pleasure drugs, broken down into three broad categories - sedatives, stimulants and visionary drugs. The author's philosophical and literary bent is manifest in a short epilogue.

Plantas, Chamanismo y Estados de Consciencia [Plants, Shamanism and States of Consciousness], Josep Maria Fericgla [Ed.], 1994. Los Libros de la Liebre de Marzo [Apartado de Correos 2215; 08080 Barcelona, Spain]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 84-87403-14-x; 255 pp.; no index; bibliographies to six of the seven papers. This is an anthology with papers by the editor Fericgla [who also contributed a preface], Alexander T. Shulgin, Richard Evans Schultes, this reviewer, C. Manuel Torres, Giorgio Samorini and James C. Callaway, loosely based on the eponymous October 1992 conference in San Luis Potosí, México [of which the recent Entheobotany meeting was the third installment]. Shulgin describes "The Art of Seeing" while Schultes gives an extensive review of psychoactive plants. Your reviewer covers the literature on Wasson's soma theory, and there are papers on Andean snuffs by Torres, Bwiti and iboga by Samorini, endogenous ß-carbolines by Callaway and a theoretical construct of 'hallucinogens' as non-specific adaptogens by the editor Fericgla. This was the first volume in the ongoing series Colección Cogniciones, of which a Spanish translation of my Pharmacotheon is the fifth publication.

El Hongo y la Génesis de las Culturas [The Mushroom and the Genesis of Cultures], Josep Maria Fericgla, 1994. Los Libros de la Liebre de Marzo. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 84-87403-15-8 [non -14-x]; 211 pp.; no index; 5 pp. bibliography. A translation of the 1985 original in Catalán, this became the second volume in the Cogniciones series edited by Fericgla and inaugurated by the aforementioned book. Ardent mycophile Fericgla [in this sense like all Catalonians] begins by examining mythology and symbol systems for traces of primordial entheogen use, then following the Wassons, contrasts the mycophilia of the Catalonians, Italians, Basques, Slavs and Siberians with the mycophobia of the Castillian and Valencian Spaniards, the Germans, Greeks and we Anglo- Saxons. He then focuses specifically on Catalunya and Amanita muscaria, examining the ethnobotany and linguistics of this [in]famous mushroom. He describes his personal psychonautic bioassays of Amanita muscaria in the Pyrenées, and concludes with a fascinating report on traditional, ludible use of this mushroom in rural Catalunya, a recent discovery absent from the original book.

La Bala Perdida: William S. Burroughs en México [Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in México], Jorge García-Robles, 1995. Ediciones del Milenio [Frontera 120-a; Col. Roma; México 06700, D.F., México]. [Im]Perfect-bound paper-back; ISBN 968-7419-08-3; 112 pp.; no index or bibliography. This is a fascinating, authorized, biographical account of the three years [1949­1952] Burroughs spent in México, whence he had fled from legal problems in the United States. With the expected cast of beat characters - Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and others - the author paints a vivid picture of life in the Mexican capital at the time, and Burroughs' activities. Of course, the focus is on the Wilhelm Tell-style shooting death of his wife Joan Vollmer, which again landed Burroughs in hot water with the law, culminating in his flight from México on the heels of his high- flying lawyer - on to South America and his far-better known quixotic adventures in quest of yajé. This is a must for Burroughs fans!

Huautla en Tiempo de Hippies [Huautla in the Hippie Era], Filvaro Estrada, 1996. Editorial Grijalbo [Calz. San Bartolo Naucalpan, 282; Argentina Poniente 11230; Miguel Hidalgo, México, D.F., México]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISBN 970-05-0665-7; 147 pp.; 3 pp. index; no bibliography. This is a compact social history of entheogenic mycophagy in the 1960s in the Mazatec village of Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, where R. Gordon Wasson rediscovered María Sabina's shamanic use of the psilocybian mushrooms in June 1955. Estrada is well-known for his 1977 biography of Sabina, now in its 8th printing in México and translated into many languages, including English [María Sabina: Her Life and Chants, Ross-Erikson, Santa Barbara, CA, 1981]. This book tells the basically sad story of the ravages of mushroomic tourism, a tale being repeated today with péyotl and ayahuasca elsewhere. Estrada also endeavors to put what happened in Huautla in the broader perspective of the times, and his book concludes with a brief letter from Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of psilocybin from Sabina's Huautla mushrooms.

Recent Spanish reprints of books in English and periodicals

El Hongo Maravilloso Teonanácatl [The Wondrous Mushroom Teonanácatl], R. Gordon Wasson, 1993. Fondo de Cultura Económica [Carreterra Pichaco-Ajusco, 227; 14200 México, D.F., México]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 968-16-1563-8; 307 pp.; 6 pp. index; 16 pp. bibliography. This is the second printing in Spanish [7,000 total] of Wasson's seminal 1980 limited-edition original The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica, now selling for US$675.

El Camino a Eleusis [The Road to Eleusis], R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann and Carl A.P. Ruck, 1995. Fondo de Cultura Económica. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 968-16-0655-8; 237 pp.; no index; footnote references. The English 1978 original now long out-of-print, this is the third printing of the Spanish translation [12,000 total], which features an Appendix translating our 1979 Journal of Psychedelic Drugs paper [11(1-2): 145-146] coining the word entheogen[ic].

La Búsqueda de Perséfone [Persephone's Quest], R. Gordon Wasson, Stella Kramrisch, Jonathan Ott, Carl A.P. Ruck, 1996. Fondo de Cultura Económica. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 968-16-3695-3; 339 pp.; no index; footnote references. This is the second printing in Spanish [4,000 total] of the 1986 English original, still in print in paperback from Yale University Press.

Plantas de los Dioses [Plants of the Gods], Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, 1993. Fondo de Cultura Económica. Smythe-sewn hardcover; ISBN 968-16-1023-7; 192 pp.; 5 pp. index, 2 pp. bibliography. This is the second hardcover printing in Spanish, identical to the 1979 out-of-print English original, 'though a 1992 paperback is now available from Healing Arts Press.

Las Voces del Chamán [Shamanic Voices], Joan Halifax, 1995. Editorial Diana [Roberto Gayol, 1219; México 03100, D.F., México]. [Im]Perfect-bound paper-back; ISBN 968-13-2782-9; 285 pp.; no index; 13 pp. bibliography. This is a welcome recent translation of the 1979 anthology of shamanic narratives by ethnographer Halifax, still available in English paperback from Arkana/Penguin.

Hongos: Especies Alucinógenas [Mushrooms: Psychedelic Fungi], Peter Furst, 1995. Editorial Diana. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISBN 968-13-2869-8; 120 pp.; 4 pp. index; 1 p. bibliography. This is a new translation of Furst's 1986 [updated 1992] illustrated volume in The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs series aimed at laypersons, still available in English from Chelsea House.

Takiwasi: Revista de Reflexión e Intercambio [Takiwasi: Journal for Reflection and Interchange], Jacques Mabit [Ed.], 1992 onward. Takiwasi Centro de Rehabilitación e Investigación de las Medicinas Tradicionales [Prolongación Jirón Alerta, 466; Tarapoto, Perú; $23/$33 per annum (individuals; Latin America/elsewhere); institutions add $20; (biennial); single/back issues $15/$17 (individuals); $22/$27 (institutions)]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISSN 1021-6685; 136-150 pp. [approx.]; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. The annual journal of the Franco/Peruvian 'substance abuse' [sic] treatment center Takiwasi, where ayahuasca and allied ethnomedicines are administered in a non-coercive intensive program for problematic drug-habitués, four numbers have been published, commencing in December 1992. Although the subject matter ranges far beyond shamanic inebriants, each issue has contained at least a couple of articles on entheobotany of ayahuasca, San Pedro, Cannabis, iboga, etc. While the articles are exclusively in Spanish, with the third number commenced Appendices with abstracts in Portuguese, French and English, and with the fourth number a much-needed, but still too-short list of recommended publications. It is hoped both the abstract section and books and periodicals section will be greatly expanded. Takiwasi is developing nicely as a vital Spanish-language periodical focusing on contemporary therapeutic applications of visionary ethnomedicines, well-produced and with a broad, eclectic scope. The editors have wisely chosen to publish in book form English translations of extracts of the early volumes, and solicited my editorial advice in this regard. I eagerly await the appearance of this valuable book which, hopefully, will have an index.

Italian Originals, Non-English Translation

Gli Allucinogeni nel Mito [Hallucinogens in Mythology], Giorgio Samorini, 1995. Nautilus [C.P. 1311; 10100 Torino, Italy; Lire 20,000]. Sew-and-glue paperback; no ISBN; 172 pp.; no index; 25 pp. bibliography. Giorgio Samorini, one of the world's leading experts on entheogenic ethnopharmacognosy, here offers a fascinating review of entheobotany of various psychoactive plants, centered on their mythology, especially origin myths. There are chapters on ayahuasca, péyotl, Cannabis, Solanaceæ [Datura, Mandragora, Nicotiana spp.], snuff powders, iboga [on which he has done original research], San Pedro, jurema, kava, Amanita and Psilocybe species, stimulants [coca, coffee, tea, cola] and alcoholic beverage plants [the vine and wines; maguéy and pulque]. A good bibliography rounds out this original book, although such a concentration of interesting data surely merits a detailed index, sadly absent - why do so few authors or publishers deign to favor the reader with an index? Is it too much to ask?

Funghetti [Liberty Caps], Silvio Pagani [pseudonym for Giorgio Samorini], 1993. Nautilus [Lire 4,000]. Stapled booklet with dust-jacket; no ISBN; 36 pp.; no index; no bibliography. This is the First European popular book on entheomycology, contemporaneous with Jochen Gartz' Narrenschwämme, which was recently translated into English [assuming one does not count the British Isles as Europe; and the 1977 A Guide to British Psilocybin Mushrooms]. Samorini, a true expert in the field [who recently wowed the sophisticated American audience at the Entheobotany conference in San Francisco, November 1996, with some 'New Perspectives in Ethnomycology'] has produced an inexpensive, accurate and interesting look at Europe's diminutive Liberty Cap mushroom, Psilocybe semilanceata. Even including 4 pages of nice color photographs at a bargain price ['though the crude line drawing had better been replaced with an index or bibliography], he covers ancient and modern history, effects, field identification and use as pharmacotheon, concluding with comments on the contemporary Pharmacratic Inquisition resulting in misclassifying his beloved "little mushrooms" funghetti as narcotics.

Le Droghe degli Dei: Veleni Sacri, Estasi Divine [Drugs of the Gods: Sacred Poisons, Divine Ecstasy], Philippe de Félice, 1990. ECIG [Via Cafiaro, 19/10; 16124 Genova, Italy; Lire 38,000]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 88-7545-393-4; 333 pp.; no index; 11 pp. bibliography and footnote references. This recent translation of de Félice's pioneering 1936 Poisons Sacrés, Ivresses Divines: Essai sur Quelques Formes Inférieurs de la Mystique [Sacred Poisons, Divine Inebriations: An Essay on Certain Inferior (sic) Forms of Mysticism; reprinted in facsimile in 1970 by Éditions Albin Michel; 22, rue Huyghens; Paris, France] makes this recondite work again available. Although marred by a bias against inebriants, as evinced by the oxymoronic title, sacred 'poisons,' so-called 'inferior' forms of mysticism, de Félice was the first systematically to call attention to this overlooked aspect of religion. In this sense, he was only following Baudelaire's colossal error, in having characterized inebriation as 'artificial paradises,' which clearly won the day in the Francophone world. Even Lewin's monumental Phantastica of 1924 was criminally mistitled Les "Paradis Artificiels" in the 1928 French translation, and Havelock Ellis likewise had characterized péyotl as "a new artificial paradise." Nonetheless, there is much of interest here, with coverage of opium, coca, kava, ayahuasca, tobacco, Cannabis, qat, péyotl, archaic wines, with speculations regarding soma, Dionysian inebriation, Celtic and Germanic inebriants. It is unpardonable that the Italian publishers should have prescinded even the sketchy, 6-page index of the original - why?

Italian reprints and new periodicals

Alla Scoperta Dei Misteri Eleusini [Unveiling the Eleusinian Mysteries], R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann, Carl A.P. Ruck, 1996. Libri Urra-Apogeo [Viale Papiniano, 38; 20123 Milano, Italy; Lire 24,000]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 88-7303-149-8; 126 pp.; no index; footnote references. This is a well-produced, new Italian translation of the 1978 English classic [vide supra for Spanish translation], much in demand in English [signed copies of the original $12.95 trade edition have commanded up to $1,000 on the rare-book market, and even the contemporaneous $4.95 paperback is scarce as hens' teeth!]. It requires no special business acumen to descry the potential value of an English reprint!

L'Hachisch [Hashish], Jacques-Joseph Moreau [de Tours], 1996. Sensibili alle Foglie [Via Enrico del Pozzo, 5/a; 00146 Roma, Italy; Lire 23,000]. 122 pp. I have not seen this recent Italian translation [and abridgement, judging from the number of pages] of Moreau's pioneering 1845 treatise Du Hachisch et de l'Aliénation Mentale: études Psychologiques [On Hashish and Mental Illness: Psychological Studies; reprinted in facsimile by Collection "Esquirol" (3, rue Eugene Delacroix; Paris 16, France, 1970)], never translated into English ['though a short excerpt appeared in the recent anthology White Rabbit: A Psychedelic [sic] Reader (Chronicle Books, SF, 1995)]. It is devoutly to be wished someone will take a cue from the Italians, and give the avid Cannabinophile market an English translation of this seminal book.

Altrove [Elsewhere] Claudio Barbieri et alii [Eds.], 1993 onward. Nautilus [C.P. 1311; 10100 Torino, Italy; Lire 16,000 per annum]. Sew-and-glue paperback; no ISBN or ISSN; 152 pp.; no indices; marginalia references to individual articles. This well-produced Italian yearbook, directed to laypersons and specialists alike, was launched successfully in 1993 by the active Societá Italiana per lo Studio degli Stati di Coscienza [SISSC], and now three numbers have been produced. The inaugural issue focused on mushrooms, San Pedro, ayahuasca and general topics on alternate states; the second on Cannabis, visionary Solanaceæ and ayahuasca; the third on empathogens/MDMA, snuffs and other topics. The clean and innovative graphic design, sew-and-glue bindings and high editorial standards should be emulated on this side of the Atlantic, instead of the sleazy, 'psychedelic' publications which are still contributing to the ill repute of entheobotany in the United States.

Eleusis: Bollettino D'Informazione SISSC [Eleusis: SISSC Information Bulletin], Giorgio Samorini [Editor in Chief], 1995 onward. SISSC [Lago Santa Caterina, 43; 38068 Rovereto, Trento, Italy; Lire 40,000 per annum (three issues)]. Stapled paperback; no ISBN or ISSN; 60 pp. approx.; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. What I said above in re- emulation applies also to Eleusis, a bilingual [Italian/English] triennial periodical by the same SISSC which launched Altrove. Besides interesting articles, adverts for publications, plus music and book reviews, Eleusis also features superb in-depth 'Psychoactive Cards' on recondite visionary plants, including detailed botanical, ecological, entheobotanical, phytochemical, pharmacological and psychonautic data, culminating in detailed bibliographies. Plants featured in the five numbers extant are: Acorus calamus, Carpobrotus [Mesembryanthemum] edulis, Inocybe æruginascens, Salvia divinorum and Scopolia carniolica. There is also an excellent section on bibliographic novelties. This fine periodical replaces the previous newsletter of the SISSC, of which 8 numbers were published, between February 1992 and November 1994 [vide infra], and may be expanded and converted to bilingual Spanish/English for more international distribution.

Percorsi Psichedelici [Psychedelic Trips], Gilberto Camilla, et alii [Eds.], 1995. Edizioni Grafton 9 [Via Paradiso, 3; 40122 Bologna, Italy; Lire 12,000]. Sew-and-glue paperback; no ISBN; 102 pp.; no index; references to individual articles. This is a compilation of 14 articles selected from the defunct newsletter of the SISSC [vide supra], not nearly as elegantly produced as Altrove or Eleusis. Nevertheless, this is a valuable anthology of interesting papers on María Sabina, Santo Daime, Bwiti, pharmahuasca and other topics of psychonautic orientation.

Bibliografia Italiana su Allucinogeni e Cannabis [Italian Bibliography on Hallucinogens and Cannabis], Carlo Buono et alii [Eds.], 1994. Edizioni Grafton 9 [vide supra, Lire 7,000]. Stapled booklet; no ISBN; 68 pp.; all bibliography. The SISSC has also produced this useful bibliography of Italian-language publications on entheobotany, with special emphasis on Cannabis. Given in chronological order [with the requisite author index], most entries are extensively annotated, and sub-divided into texts, university texts and articles; with the last further subdivided into: psychological and psychiatric studies; medical and pharmacological studies; chemical and biochemical studies; mushrooms; Solanaceæ; Cannabis; Gramineæ/ergot and miscellaneous. While the center of gravity here is the Italian language, this booklet will be of interest to all serious scholars of entheobotany.

German originals and non-English translation

María Sabina: Botin der Heiligen Pilze [María Sabina: Apostle of the Sacred Mushrooms], Roger Liggenstorfer and Christian Rätsch [Eds.], 1996. Nachtschatten Verlag [Ritter Quai 2­4; CH-4502 Solothurn, Switzerland; dm48, sfr48, ös442; limited hardcover (500 copies) dm98, sfr98, ös902]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback, ISBN 3- 907080-11-4; Smythe-sewn hardcover, ISBN 3-907080-12-2; [hors commerce set of 20 half-leatherbound authors' copies]; 272 pp.; no index; 25 pp. bibliography. This is the second German translation of Filvaro Estrada's seminal 1977 biography of María Sabina; unlike its 1980 predecessor, greatly expanded by addition of a second part - a second book, really - with 15 papers by various specialists, an extensive bibliography, an 8-page section of color plates and an introduction by Albert Hofmann, to whom the book is dedicated in honor of his 90th birthday. Here we have everything from Mexican entheomycology to pharmacology and psychotherapy to the description of a novel psilocybian mushroom. The nicely-produced book is graced throughout with innumerable fascinating marginalia quotations and illustrations, and its only obvious defect - familiar theme here - is the lack of an index, devoutly to be rued in the case of a book like this, with such an eclectic, multidisciplinary treasure-trove of information. Incorporating a reprint of Henry Munn's fine 1981 English translation of Estrada's book, we need an indexed translation of this greatly-expanded and updated version.

Ürbock: Bier Jenseits von Hopfen und Malz [Ürbock: Beer Beyond Hops and Malt], Christian Rätsch, 1996. AT Verlag [Bahnhof-straße, 39-34; 5001 Aarau, Switzerland; dm48, sfr48, ös355]. Smythe-sewn hardcover; ISBN 3-85502-553-3; 224 pp.; 5 pp. index; 18 pp. bibliography. I had commented in my 1993 Pharmacotheon that a desideratum of entheobotany was a study of numerous psychotropic additives to alcoholic beverages in antiquity, and now German ethnographer Rätsch has admirably tackled the brewer's side of the equation. This lovely, lavishly-illustrated oversized book commences with a survey of beers, then goes straight to the malt of the beverage, "The Secret: The Additives," with an 11-page table of herbal, mineral, even animal additives to beers, noting presumed active principles and their putative effects, and respective cultural background of each. While much of this information is sketchy and sometimes speculative and even improbable, this can in great measure be ascribed to the new territory being broken here, and it is to be hoped that this layperson- directed book will serve as a guide to some enterprising graduate students who might explore these "twice five miles of fertile ground" in more detail. Rätsch examines the mandrake beer of ancient Egypt, the Eleusinian kykeon [here rather loosely called a beer, as consumption immediately followed preparation with no time for fermentation] and various traditional beers of Africa, Asia and the Americas, heralding the arrival of the 'hemp beer era' and the "Psychedelic Beers of the Future," in furtherance of which he proffers recipes for Cannabis, henbane ["The Genuine Pilsener"] and mandrake beers, with all the requisite psychonautic bioassay data, of course! Now, who will start scratching the surface of the 'secret' ingredients of the wines of Yahweh and Dionysus... not to mention the quintessence of the very quinta essencia, psychoactive additives to liqueurs and other distilled alcohols? We wait with 'bated, if not alcoholic, breath!

Pflanzen der Liebe [Plants of Love], Christian Rätsch, 1995. AT Verlag [dm48, sfr48, ös375]. Smythe-sewn hardcover; ISBN 3-85502-524-x; 208 pp.; 8 pp. index; 1 pp. bibliography. Just when we were suspecting Rätsch was spending too much time bioassaying in his Psychedelische Bierstube, he has also compiled a lavishly-illustrated layperson's guide to the aphrodisiacs [dedicated, significantly, to his partner and collaborator Dr. Claudia Müller-Ebeling, with whom he had coauthored the 1986 Isoldens Liebestrank, 'Isolde's Philtre']! This very attractive book, with a foreword by Albert Hofmann, reviews the major putative aphrodisiacs, especially plants, with a 113-species 'Plant Lexicon' modeled after the 1978 Medicines from the Earth and 1979 Plants of the Gods [McGraw-Hill], with color illustrations and brief notes on each species, 3-4 per page. Having the audacity to inquire "Who Needs Aphrodisiacs?" [mayhap we ought ask the dedicatee!], Rätsch proceeds to review the most important such in a dozen chapters, with the now-familiar cast of characters - Cannabis, opium, thornapple, ginseng, mandrake, henbane, yohimbe, coca, etc., concluding [could there be any doubt?] with some of his favorite recipes, although the aphronautic bioassay data is concupiscent by its absence! Students take note! Aphrobotany, like entheobotany, can be particularly rewarding in the pharmacological dimension of requisite field work, especially when compared to study of epidemiology, environmental chemistry, or competing ethnopharmacognostical subspecialties like dart- and arrow- poisons, ordeal poisons, purgatives/emetics, vesicants, zombi powders, anaphrodisiacs and suchlike delicacies!

Räucherstoffe: Der Atem des Drachen [Fumatories: The Dragon's Breath], Christian Rätsch, 1996. AT Verlag [dm48, sfr48, ös355]. Smythe-sewn hardcover; ISBN 3-85502-545-2; 231 pp.; 2 pp. botanical 'pseudoindex'; 8 pp. bibliography. Never again will I suspect Rätsch of spending too much time in psychonautic or aphronautic bioassays; or in anything else but writing! Herewith yet another lovely, illustrated volume on fumatories, published in the same year as the above-reviewed Ürbock and scarcely a year after Pflanzen der Liebe, with which this book makes a sort of coffee-table trilogy. This time we have 73 mini-chapters of diverse fumatories - 70 plants or plant-groups; two animals [ambergris from whales and various molluscs] and one mineral [sulfur] - giving common and scientific names, beautiful classical illustrations and ethnopharmacognostical details. Some 15 of the plant chapters feature well-known psychotropic species: Atropa, Hyoscyamus, Mandragora spp.; Artemisia, Salvia, Thuja spp.; Ledum, Rhododendron spp.; Cannabis spp.; Erythroxylum spp.; Theobroma cacao; Acorus spp.; Papaver somniferum; and Peganum harmala. Most of the remaining chapters describe manifold resinous plants such as species of: Abies, Acacia, Bursera, Cedrus, Commiphora, Cupressus, Eucalyptus, Juniperus, Liquidambar, Myroxylon, Pinus and Styrax. There is a 22-page introductory section covering visionary uses of fumatories, medicinal applications, and ritual uses in archaic cultures of Palæogæa and Neogæa [the latter focusing on the Maya, Rätsch's anthropological specialty]. There is a central 16-page color-plate section; 106 mini-portraits of various fumatory resins, roots, barks, seeds, leaves, etc., plus 16 plant photographs, all of good quality. There is a practical 20-page use section, with the obligatory Rätsch-Rezepte [recipes], and a 2-page, 207-species botanical index, inexplicably lacking in page citations - just scientific names of various organisms! This is an inexcusable oversight, as is lack of a general index to all the lore catalogued here. The book ends with a useful 8-page bibliography of 322 sources.

Heimische Pflanzen der Götter [Native Plants of the Gods], Erwin Bauereiß, 1995. Raymond Martin Verlag [D-91459 Markt Erlbach, Germany; dm33]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISBN 3-88631-218-6; 240 pp.; no index; 20 pp. bibliography. For Europeans interested in 'homey' sacred plants, or all those interested in European entheobotany, horticulturist Bauereiß has compiled an anthology dealing mainly with the well-known solanaceous ingredients of sorceress' philtres - thornapple, deadly nightshade, henbane, mandrake - but including also fascinating data on lesser-known inebriants like Scopolia, Aconitum, hemlock, darnel, mistletoe, Ledum palustre; and old favorites like opium, Amanita and Psilocybe mushrooms, Cannabis, ergot and others. There is a typographically-minuscule bibliography of 20 pages, and 16 pages of lovely color photographs; but the 5-page advert section had better been employed for a much-needed index to this wealth of recondite lore. This is indeed, as subtitled, A Handbook for Sorcerers and Magicians. Bauereiß has also self-published a series of stapled booklets on Stechapfel [Thornapple; 1993, dm8]; Bilsenkraut [Henbane; 1995; dm8]; Die Eibe [The Yew, by Reinhold Jordan; 1995; dm8]; Amanita [1995; dm8] and others, all available directly from the author, who also sells seeds of these and many other plants, especially solanaceous inebriants [Wurzel­Verlag; Markgrafenstraße, 21; 91438 Bad Windsheim, Germany].

Das Hanf Handbuch [The Hemp Handbook], Hai and Ronald Rippchen [Eds.], 1994. Medienexperimente and Nachtschatten Verlag [Alte Schmiede; D- 69488 Löhrbach, Germany; Ritter Quai 2­4; CH-4502 Solothurn, Switzerland; dm30, sfr32, ös250]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperback; ISBN 3-925817-73-5; 288 pp.; no index; scant references. Albeit rather cheaply and inelegantly produced [some text is even crudely blacked-out by pen], this is nevertheless an interesting and multidisciplinary look at Cannabis. The publishers are to be commended, also, for printing the book on a lovely, 50% hemp and 50% recycled paper, still unavailable as book stock in the U.S. This is in keeping with the political orientation of the book, and is doubtless a nice stimulus to the market for hemp book papers. The chapters range widely from botany and chemistry to horticulture, psychonautic bioassay, pharmacology, medicinal use, artistic and political aspects.

German translations and periodicals

Pflanzen der Götter [Plants of the Gods], Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, 1995. AT Verlag [dm48, sfr48, ös375]. Smythe-sewn hardcover; ISBN 3-85502-543-6; 191 pp.; 4 pp. index; 2 pp. bibliography. We've here the second German edition of the classic 1979 coffee-table book on entheobotany by the two deans of the field, beautifully reproduced and very nicely clothbound.

Jahrbuch für Ethnomedizin und Bewusstseinsforschung [Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness], Christian Rätsch and John Baker [Eds.], 1992 onward. VWB [Postfach 11 03 68; 1000 Berlin 61, Germany; dm48 per annum for subscription; back/individual issues dm58]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperbacks; ISSN 0942-1408; ISBN 3-927408-81-6/-85-9 [1 and 2]; 3-86135-030-0/-031-9 [3 and 4]; 200-400 pp.; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. With four issues published and fifth in press, the bilingual [German/English] Yearbook is firmly established as the premier German periodical on entheobotany, exceeding in quality, frequency and quantity the sporadic Integration. With an eclectic, multidisciplinary scope, there is something here for all students of consciousness, and especially valuable is the extensive space given to book reviews and lists of recent publications and conferences. There are generally more English than German articles, and the latter always have extensive English summaries, and vice versa.

Curare: Zeitschrift für Ethnomedizin [Curare: Journal for Ethnomedicine], Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Ethnomedizin, 1995 [ongoing and preceding]. VWB [dm86 per annum (two issues); individual isues dm48]. [Im]Perfect-bound paperbacks; ISSN 0344-8622; 300 pp. [approx.]; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. The continuation of the journal Ethnomedizin, now in its 18th biennial volume, Curare has become ever more a journal of entheogenic ethnomedicine, and in Volume 18(1): 1-264, 1995 presented a special issue on "Mushrooms, Shamanism and the Facets of Consciousness," edited by Christian Rätsch. Unfortunately, 10 of 12 papers were in German, but of course having English abstracts, and the two papers in English were both lengthy-T.G. Schurr's 35-page review of Amanita muscaria in Siberian shamanism; and my own 27-page review of Salvia divinorum ethnopharmacognosy and human pharmacology. There are always extensive book and conference reviews and salient announcements, and Rätsch is preparing yet another special issue on shamanism.

Integration: Zeitschrift für Geistbewegende Pflanzen und Kultur [Integration: Journal for Mind-Moving Plants and Culture], Herman de Vries et alii [Eds.], 1991 onward. Bilwis-Verlag [Eschenau, 29; D-97478 Knetzgau, Germany; dm110/dm122 (domestic/foreign), $75 (three-issue subscription, one per annum)]. Sew-and-glue paperbacks; ISSN 0939-4958; 80-128 pp.; no index; bibliographies to individual papers. Launched in 1991 and with five numbers published [the most recent being No. 6, which appeared in 1996 dated 1995; the second, 1992 issue was numbered 2&3], Integration is a bilingual [German/English] yearbook of entheobotany, of which this reviewer is an editor. Although nicely printed on beautiful paper, the clean and solid design by Karl Duschek has been consistently marred by amateurish composition and, as co-editor, I must confess that with regard to consistency, typographical errors, etc., the editorial quality has been poor. On the other hand, each number features at least several pages of color illustrations, with the first number graced by Pablo Amaringo's ayahuasca art [2,4 and 6 with color plates of mushrooms; only No. 5 lacked color plates], and there have been bonuses, like the black- and-white mini-poster of Psilocybe semilanceata in 2&3. There have also been many fascinating articles by leading experts, 'though some would not have passed peer-review in a more conventional journal. Should the composition and copy-editing of Integration be placed in the hands of professionals, it could begin to realize its considerable potential.

French original

Fumée Clandestine: Il Était une Fois le Cannabis [Clandestine Smoke: Once Upon a Time There Was Cannabis], Jean-Pierre Galland, 1993. Les Éditions du Lézard [9, pass. Dagorno; 75020 Paris, France; ff195]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 2-9507264-0-2; 288 pp.; 5 pp. index; no bibliography. After a long dry spell, from Moreau, Gautier and Baudelaire to Rouhier, de Félice, Michaux and Heim, entheobotanical books are again appearing in French, and Lézard is clearly specializing in this area. Galland's book, like the Hanf Handbuch reviewed above, is also a typographical and design patchwork - 'though more elegant and better illustrated. It deals mainly with European, especially French, politics, with scanty scientific and historical background information, and a concluding section on Cannabis in Afghanistan, Morocco, Lebanon, Africa, India, Jamaica, Colombia and the U.S. This book is of particular interest to students of the European scene and those working against prohibition, but the nice illustrations and quite good index give it a broader appeal. Lézard has also recently published an unillustrated translation of Jack Herer's L'Empereur est Nu. Fumée Clandestine II [336 pp.] was published in 1995.

French translations

Les Plantes des Dieux [Plants of the Gods], Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, 1993. Les Éditions du Lézard [ff195]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 2-9507264-2-9; 192 pp.; 5 pp. index; no bibliography. Lézard has also published a paperback reprint of the classic 1979 coffee-table book which, however, suffers from low- resolution [300 dpi laser-printer] 'typography.'

Histoire Élémentaire des Drogues [Elementary History of Drugs], Antonio Escohotado, 1995. Les Éditions du Lézard [ff90]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 2-910718-02-6; 232 pp.; 14 pp. index; no bibliography. Since there is already a French translation of Escohotado's highly-condensed Elementary History of Drugs, can the larger English-language market long continue to be left out?

Les Champignons Hallucinants [The Hallucinatory Mushrooms], Fernando Benítez, 1995. Les Éditions du Lézard. 112 pp. This recent translation, which I haven't seen, of Benítez' well-known Los Hongos Alucinantes [now in its 6th printing in México and originally part of his monumental Los Indios de México] includes also extracts from the French translation of Filvaro Estrada's biography of María Sabina, a text by the late entheomycologist Roger Heim, and a translation of an article by Gilberto Camilla from the inaugural issue of Altrove [vide supra].

Portuguese Originals

União do Vegetal. Hoasca: Fundamentos e Objetivos [União do Vegetal. Hoasca: Fundamentals and Objectives], Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 1989. Centro de Memória e Documentação [no address, not sold openly]. Sew-and-glue paperback; no ISBN; 141 pp.; no index; 3 pp. bibliography. The UDV, largest of the syncretic ayahuasca churches in Brasil, published this brief history and doctrine of the church, founded in 1961 by José Gabriel da Costa. The bulk of the book is given over to appendices on the pharmacology of chá hoasca, and details of the official studies made of the organization in the wake of unsuccessful attempts to illegalize its sacramental use of the potion. It concludes with the articles of incorporation of the UDV and a brief 4-page glossary and 27-item bibliography.

Guiado Pela Lua: Xamanismo e Uso Ritual da Ayahuasca no Culto do Santo Daime [Guided by the Moon: Shamanism and the Ritual Use of Ayahuasca in the Santo Daime Cult], Edward MacRae, 1992. Editôra Brasiliense [Av. Marquês de São Vicente, 1771; 01139 São Paulo, SP, Brasil]. Sew-and-glue paperback; ISBN 85-11-07035-4; 165 pp.; no index; 3 pp. bibliography. Edward MacRae is at once an anthropologist and a member of the Santo Daime religion, so this is a curious sort of insider's/outsider's look at this fascinating syncretic ayahuasca religion, like UDV representative of the Entheogenic Reformation of Christianity in South America. MacRae discusses shamanism in general and ayahuasca shamanism in particular, then gives the history of Santo Daime, tracing it back to founder Raimundo Irineu Serra's days as a rubber-tapper in Amazonia in the 1920s and 1930s. Like the UDV book reviewed above, he gives the story of the two legal attempts to prohibit the ayahuasca religions in Brasil, particularly referring to the adoption of Cannabis as a secondary sacrament by some Santo Daime groups, which seems to have provoked the legal problems. After some details of the ritual use of daime or ayahuasca in Santo Daime, MacRae concludes with 12 pages of hymns by Mestre Irineu -the singing of hymns and accompanying dancing is one of the most apparent differences between Daimista and Vegetalista liturgy. While the book has a brief bibliography, it would have benefited greatly by the addition of at least a few pages of index. Since MacRae is of British/Brasilian extraction, as his surname makes manifest, perhaps we might hope for an English edition prepared directly by him.

Jonathan Ott
Natural Products Co.
Apartado Postal 532
Xalapa, Veracruz, México