 "The Next Best Thing to His Lectures" | 2009-12-19 |
| - Reviewed By Travis from Tampa, Fl |
| Im more apt to listen to mckennas talks then read his books because they seem a lot more interactive and full of knowledge (all his talks are provided for free on the internet if your looking for them). But the next best thing would be the archaic revival because the nature of the dialogue in it is mckenna being interviewed. The biggest jewel in here is the way he articulates himself and his speculations, on history, on spirituality. Its hard not to read a chapter of his and come out with a few wrenches in the gears of your mind, and if thats what your looking for in a book you've found it here. |
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 "A "gotta have it" for fans of author or topic" | 2009-11-02 |
| - Reviewed By Rides Water from Akron, Ohio |
If you have heard audio or video of Terence speak, and you liked what you heard, you will not be disappointed with this book. This fills in so much of what he alludes to during his lectures.
If you have not read it, then reread the title. If the mushroom topic puts you off, then avoid it. Terence's work is heavily influenced by his scholarly approach to the topic of what sacred mushrooms have done for humans in the past, what they do now, and where they might help us go in the future. |
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 "A heaping helping of classic Terence McKenna" | 2009-10-25 |
| - Reviewed By Brian P. Akers |
"Archaic Revival" offers a nice smorgasbord of essays and interviews from the late Terence McKenna, a figure well known and celebrated in popular countercultural circles of recent decades for his wildly speculative discussions of tripping on psychedelics. Two pieces in this book - Voynich ms, and Wasson's Literary Precursors -- are interesting and ok because they're not too chockfull of nonsense. But the rest of it is pretty consistent with the bulk of his work (per my amazon review of "Food of the Gods").
I'm sure McKenna was a nice guy, for whatever that's worth (since it has no bearing on the merits of whatever ideas). Likewise, it's fine that McKenna and his fans don't view DMT and psilocybin in a prejudicially negative way. Unfortunately that cannot lend value or merit to the severely unenlightened counter-propaganda in this book, which does an equal and opposite kind of disservice. McKenna's discussion sheds no light, and much dark. The subject of psychedelics is inherently fascinating and important. Sadly, he drenches it in empty hyperbole and controversy, deepening and sharpening the lines that divide one ideological camp from another, while pretending to a progressive approach. What the subject needs and deserves is: a thoughtfully balanced, critically informed pursuit of broader positive understanding that builds on and integrates what we've managed to find out so far.
As revealed in this book (and his others), McKenna was apparently quite a countercultural hardliner. His appeal, narrow as it is, seems to lie in the way he combined a recriminatory condemnation of Western society and tradition (a la politically correct pseudo-liberalism) with his own unique, peculiar brand of New Age millennial goofy-occultish "metaphysical" speculation - routinely referred to as his "theories" (like 2012 Time Wave Zero, and "stoned apes" etc.). Good news: you may well like this book if your values and tastes resonate with such things.
In good conscience, I wouldn't recommend "Archaic Revival" to anyone seeking a clear, informed understanding of the complex, profound nature of psychedelic drug effects and experience. Despite the "groovy" face it puts on, I've discovered significant animosity lurking beneath the surface of McKenna's appeal; not just toward the religious right either. McKenna and his fans also tend to view and portray scientific knowledge, informed thought and critical reasoning in a misconstrued, negative way (much like protestant fundamentalists). It's understandable; after all, science is no slave to the kind of ideology McKenna expresses, any more than it is to conservative biblical literalism. Science can't tell us whether there's a god or an afterlife (Dawkins-type arguments notwithstanding); but it can powerfully undermine many cherished opinions of bible thumpers and committed new agers alike.
As wry, perceptive humor, "theories" about why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings are fine. But McKenna is no Lewis Carroll. He speaks in a hyper-earnest tone, full of unshakeable conviction, contradicting the oft-heard claim of his apologists, that "he wasn't serious about all that stuff, he was just kidding."
As I've found (right here at amazon), many who embrace McKenna's writings resemble the right-wing fundamentalists they dislike. Both are unfriendly toward science, because it doesn't support various ideas they push so aggressively for whatever reason. Yet strangely, both often try and bolster their views by selectively cherry-picking from scientific findings. Fundamentalists and McKenna alike try to mess with evolutionary theory, while carefully avoiding or ignoring the bulk of what we've learned that doesn't lend to what they're trying to do with it (see Chap 10 in "Archaic Revival").
As this book shows, McKenna is verbally articulate; but his discussion mostly ranges from incoherent to deeply misinformed. That he advocates psychedelics per se is not a problem. Trouble is, he does it in a way that only adds to the air of discredit and disrepute which has come to surround the subject (unfortunately), lending credence to the worst prejudices against such substances -- that they inspire delusional grandiosity and incoherence, irrationality; and any insights or realizations one may come to under their effects are illusory at best, and psychotic at worst.
A big problem with McKenna is his misdirection of interest, the misleading way he tries to speak for the subject; for example, by trying to discredit meditation (because it's "boring" -- as if it's purpose is to entertain!), yoga, religious teachings of whatever culture, even including Eastern traditions; or non-drug methods of exploring consciousness or seeking some kind of spiritual connection. McKenna comes off like a poster child for petulant demands for instant gratification, and devaluation of anything that takes time or effort.
McKenna touts psychedelics as the true and only path to consciousness. Yet he reflects no particular spiritual regard for DMT or his beloved psilocybin mushrooms, such as we see among peoples with longstanding traditional rites centered upon them. In native Mexico, the mushrooms are directly assimilated to the sacred, both native and imported Western concepts. They're traditionally handled and regarded with greatest respect, spoken of only in private, in a whisper IF AT ALL ("Aurelio advised silence because this was a `very delicate' matter" - Benitez, 1970, "Los hongos alucinantes"); and then preferably by indirect metaphors or circumlocutions so as not to profane them. In contrast, McKenna treats them in an exploitive, sensationalistic style recalling PT Barnum, reducing them to entertainment for relief of jaded boredom: "Lift up the tent edge and scoot inside where there is light and action. Strike up the band. The elf clowns of hyperspace are already juggling in the center ring. Hurry! Hurry!" (p. 3).
There are so many things, rarely remarked upon, that are so wrong with McKenna's "message" and discussion, a book review cannot begin to address them. One particularly egregious example sticks out like a sore thumb. AIS: that McKenna does not moralistically disapprove of psychedelics is fine. But his opposite extreme is recklessly irresponsible, and weirdly moralistic in reverse, scolding people for not taking overdoses: "One thing that people do that I'm definitely opposed to is to diddle with it. If you're not taking so much going into it you're afraid you did too much, then you didn't do enough" (p. 15).
(McKenna is quite puritanical, and would have fit in well with the Women's Temperance League for his railing against drugs like alcohol, that are not his chosen preference. It is plum weird in the merry old land of McKenna, his tongue clucking disapproval of whoever's choices - considering his vociferous objections to anyone laying any rap on him about his.)
This "don't diddle the dose" admonishment is disturbing. It's stunning he wants people going into a trip to be afraid. As we've learned, one's mindset is a major determinant of the form psychedelic experience takes; and the essence of a bad trip is: fear, panic. Furthermore, the chance of "bad trip" increases exponentially with larger doses, especially in certain subjects (depending on their personality and psychological constitution). A severe one can cause significant nightmarish stress that may scar and persist for years, like the post-traumatic stress syndrome of soldiers who've been through too-heavy action in an intense theater of war. This "heaven or hell" potential of psychedelic drug experience is well known and deserves respect and caution, not denial or trivialization.
I don't know what's worse: McKenna's breezy dismissal of concern (not only for those who might end up in a bad trip following his huckster advice, but for other consequences, like legal prohibition such unfortunate casualties have historically helped bring upon psychedelics in our society); or the way his word is so enthusiastically fawned over, applauded as if by an army of trained seals, like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread (check out these glowing five star reviews posted here). Head-scratching stuff for sure.
If the countercultural interest in psychedelics really cares, as it postures, about the promise of exploring consciousness and the psychedelic potential - which is in essence the human potential itself (not contact with some alien realm, or extraterrestrials) - it would do well to wake up, find its voice, and sensibly, intelligently acknowledge the problem of psychedelic Pied Piperism. Their spokesman, the late Terence McKenna, is a major case in point. But as I've found, there's a sort of addiction at work here -- not to mushrooms, which are not addictive, but to a toxic message exploiting them as its wrapper and badge of legitimacy. In the 1960's we used to say "tell it like it is." But such a value seems to have been displaced in our contemporary counterculture, which more often demands lockstep conformity to messages such as "The Archaic Revival" offers.
At best, perhaps "Archaic Revival" and its popularity can serve as a warning sign, alerting sharp observers, on need-to-know basis, about the state of things in our present milieu. McKenna and the massive acclaim for his touted "brilliance" or "genius" are likely more symptomatic than causal. |
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| "Definitive McKenna" | 2009-08-04 |
| - Reviewed By D. Spare from Kansas City |
The is the definitive McKenna text. I recommend this to anyone who needs an introduction to Terence McKenna and his psychedelic theories of evolution, consciousness, UFOs, etc. It is fun, easy to read, and is not as techinical as Food of the Gods or The Invisible Landscape. You can't take this as a scientific treatise. McKenna is a scientist with ideas, and this book is about bringing those ideas to the public. Read The Invisible Landscape to get in-depth to the scientific method. Read Archaic Revival as a cultural text.
This is one of my favorite books of all time, in my top five. It perfectly encapsulates the new wave of neo-shamanism in the later 20th and early 21st centuries.
Added 8/11/09: Since putting up this review, I have been lambasted twice by people who seem to think it necessary to ridicule my opinions of this book. I should not have to defend my opinions of a book.
Reading the text above, I never stated this was a scientific text, but a cultural one. However, apparently stating that Terence McKenna is a scientist is a sin to some that is deserving of a criticism that goes beyond the point of opinion to just plain being rude. McKenna received a Bachelor of Science from U.C. Berkeley and to look at a definition of what a "scientist" is (according to Wikipedia): "in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy. In a more restricted sense, scientist refers to individuals who use the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science." I have copies of both Webster's and Oxford Dictionary, and the definitions are similar. I did also mention that McKenna's text "The Invisible Landscape" is the book more aligned with the scientific method, co-written with his brother Dennis (Master's in Botany at the University of Hawaii, Doctorate in Botanical Sciences from University of British Columbia). I do not seem to recall any particular certification that is given to those who receive a degree in the sciences to separate the "real" scientists from the "pseudo" ones. Until that delineation can officially be made to the world, I would appreciate it if the sardonic disrespect of my opinion would cease.
Further (Mr.Akers) I am no "McK apolgist" but just liked the damn book. Please do not label me into a camp of people for which (using the scientific method) you have no proof that I am associated with.
If you want to engage in a respectful discussion, I am fine with that. Or, if you want to criticize the book, then create your own review and get off my thread. Thanks. |
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| "drivel, nonsense, and balderdash" | 2009-07-20 |
| - Reviewed By Billy Bardo from Omphalos, USA |
| I can't comprehend why this book has garnered so many positive reviews. I read it almost two decades ago, based on the title. Mircea Eliade had written extensively about the dialogue between modern and archaic realities. But I was utterly dismayed at the credulous and mush minded ideas I found between it's covers. It may be true that humans have experimented with entheogenic botanicals since the dawn of the species, but they were always seen in a shamanic context, as a sort of technology of the sacred, a way to pathfinding, self healing, and communing with the ancestors and the old ones from the Dream time. Shamans traverse the 3 cosmic regions, they can see for a thousand miles, they can understand the language of insects, they can die and be reborn with a body stuffed full of diamonds. There is that which, if uncovered, will cover itself back up again--there are limits to language and articulation--there are things that can be said, and things that must remain unspoken--when one is overwhelmed by visionary ecstasy, poetry, music, painting and sculpture, dance, may all be appropriate expressions of profound feeling--but not McKenna's crazy model building and goofy maps of alternate realities. Soren Kierkegaard taught that the Truth is an uncertainty, passionately held. Don't mistake comic books for holy scripture. The Buddhists teach that the enlightened one walks a tightrope between Samsara and Nirvana. McKenna was hopelessly lost in Samsara, and the sword of discriminative wisdom seems to be conspicuous only in its absence. Do not be deceived. Seek spiritual guidance elsewhere. This way lies nonsense. |
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| "The Doors of Deception" | 2009-07-20 |
| - Reviewed By Billy Bardo from Omphalos, USA |
| If you think this book is a knowledgeable representation of the facts, then everything you know is wrong. McKenna was a posturing buffoon. I can't comprehend why this book has garnered so many positive reviews. I read it almost two decades ago, based on the title. Mircea Eliade had written extensively about the dialogue between modern and archaic realities. But I was utterly dismayed at the credulous and mush minded ideas I found between it's covers. There is little evidence that humans have experimented with entheogenic botanicals since the dawn of the species, but early spiritual practices are always seen in a shamanic context, as a sort of technology of the sacred, a way to pathfinding, self healing, and communing with the ancestors and the old ones from the Dream time. Shamans traverse the 3 cosmic regions, they can see for a thousand miles, they can understand the language of insects, they can die and be reborn with a body stuffed full of diamonds. There is that which, if uncovered, will cover itself back up again--there are limits to language and articulation--there are things that can be said, and things that must remain unspoken--when one is overwhelmed by visionary ecstasy, poetry, music, painting and sculpture, dance, may all be appropriate expressions of profound feeling--but not McKenna's crazy model building and goofy maps of alternate realities. Soren Kierkegaard taught that the Truth is an uncertainty, passionately held. Don't mistake comic books for holy scripture. The Buddhists teach that the enlightened one walks a tightrope between Samsara and Nirvana. McKenna was hopelessly lost in Samsara, and the sword of discriminative wisdom seems to be conspicuous only in its absence. Do not be deceived. Seek spiritual guidance elsewhere. This way lies nonsense. |
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