The father of LSD, Albert Hofmann, recounts the history of his discovery and his career as a research chemist, offering a personal inside story of the birth of the Psychedelic Age. The book argues that LSD, psilocybin, and other hallucinogens create cracks in materialistic rationality that are worth exploring. It also introduces American readers to European writers on hallucinogens such as Rudolf Gelpke, Ernst Junger, and Walter Vogt, and includes chapters originally presented at a 1978 conference.
LSD was first synthesized in 1938 by Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Laboratories in Switzerland while he was investigating ergot alkaloids for potential medicinal uses. Hofmann accidentally discovered its psychoactive effects in 1943 after unintentionally absorbing a small amount through his skin, leading to the first intentional self-experiment with the substance. The article recounts the historical circumstances of LSD's discovery, including Hofmann's systematic exploration of the compound's properties and his detailed accounts of the subjective experiences during his initial trials. The narrative traces the compound's development from a laboratory curiosity to a substance that would later influence psychiatry and culture.