This is the second volume of North Atlantic Books' hard cover edition of
Dale Pendell's Pharmako trilogy, an encyclopedic study of the history
and uses of psychoactive plants and related synthetics first published
between 1995 and 2005. The books form an interrelated suite of works
that provide the reader with a unique, reliable, and often personal
immersion in this medically, culturally, and spiritually fascinating
subject. All three books are beautifully designed and illustrated, and
are written with unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and
range.
Pharmako/Dynamis: Stimulating Plants, Potions, and Herbcraft focuses
on stimulants (including coffee, tea, chocolate, and coca and its
derivatives) and empathogens (notably Ecstasy). Each substance is
explored in detail, not only with information on its history,
pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences,
but also the subtleties of each plant's effect on consciousness in a way
that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant
quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating
as its subject.
The Pharmako series also includes Pharmako/Poeia (which covers
tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, opiates, salvia divinorum, and other
substances) and Pharmako/Gnosis (which addresses psychedelics and
shamanic plants).