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As LSD moves towards the medical mainstream, it continues to evoke powerful memories of the psychedelic sixties and west coast counterculture. In this lively account, Chris Elcock follows a different branch of psychedelic history – one that is sprawling, layered, and centred on New York City.
A major hub for the production and consumption of LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs, New York spawned a unique psychedelic culture that reverberated through the city, from psychoanalytic circles to artists’ studios, Greenwich Village to Central Park. Based on years of archival research, interviews with former acid heads, and a range of cultural artifacts, Psychedelic New York shows how the postwar city was at the forefront of LSD medical research, the burgeoning of psychedelic art, drug-accompanied spiritual seeking, and a proliferation of drug subcultures. Elcock recounts stories of New Yorkers such as Holocaust survivor Nina Graboi and artist Isaac Abrams, whose lives were dramatically altered by their psychedelic experiences, while offering new insights into Timothy Leary’s role in turning on the city with psilocybin.
Enlivened by personal stories and rooted in thoughtful analysis, Psychedelic New York is a multifaceted history of LSD and the urban psychedelic experience.
“Elcock’s work shines through its balanced approach to the history of psychedelics and how it situates LSD in the broader context of New York’s drug scene. Psychedelic New York is an important, readable contribution to the history of psychedelia. Both academics and lay readers interested in psychedelics can learn much from this excellent book.” H-Sci-Med-Tech
"Psychedelic New York is a deeply researched, well written, and well-structured collection of insights and stories that may appeal to a general readership hoping to learn more about the use of drugs from the 1950s to the 1980s." Histoire sociale/Social History
"Elcock has opened many lines of inquiry that future historians can follow and expand on. He weaves several influential historical figures into his story, and illuminates the reality that New York City residents were experimenting with psychedelic substances." New York History
"Psychedelic New York offers a fascinating blend of cultural, social, medical, and art history approaches. This multidimensional study allows readers to appreciate the kaleidoscopic impact of mescaline, LSD, ibogaine, and other drugs on NYC’s local history and in the wider history of twentieth-century North America." University of Toronto Quarterly