Thanks to this discussion I have a growing wish list of books I would like to read before diving in. Another book I own, but have only been able to thumb through, is McKenna's "Food of the Gods". _refugee_, you may find that read interesting since you've had first hand experience with shrooms.
Thanks for the shout-out - I didn't necessarily enjoy my experiences with shrooms and have no plans to pursue them further or for spiritual/esoteric gratification (same with basic hallucinogens, etc, in general - I've done 'em enough, but I don't get that much out of them) so I don't know if I'd get anything out of it, but I'll check it out just to see. For those of you who did enjoy your experiences and/or do plan to use those drugs to reach higher planes or greater stages of self-awareness or anything, that's cool - it's just not something that really works for, or interests, me. Different strokes for different folks, I'd just prefer that everyone not jump in and tell me I'm missing out. I'm also completely uninterested in, say, lucid dreaming, for example. I'm glad some people get kicks from it, and I don't try to deny those benefits. They just don't do much for me.