Tripped

Norman Ohler is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of The Infiltrators and the New York Times bestseller Blitzed, as well as the novels Die Quotenmaschine (the world's first hypertext novel), Mitte and Stadt des Goldes (translated into English as Ponte City) and the historical crime novel Die Gleichung des Lebens. He lives in Berlin.

Utterly fascinating and illuminating. In tracing the curious origins of LSD as a drug and as a cultural phenomenon - a compulsive maze-like trail that takes in obscure Swiss institutes, the rise of Nazi Germany, the philosophy of brainwashing, CIA conspiracies, the White House and Elvis Presley - Norman Ohler also cleverly throws fresh light on the Cold War that dominated the late twentieth century: a global struggle for psychological supremacy and psychic liberation. On top of all this, his storytelling is not only beguiling but - by the end - profoundly moving as well. It is possible that LSD will have a part to play in all our medical futures: this gripping and deeply felt book will tell you why

• PART I: MEDICINE 1: The Zone 2: From Paint to Medicine 3: At the Zurich Train Station 4: On Location: Novartis Company Archive 5: The Mice Don't Notice a Thing 6: Swiss Cheese and Ergot 7: Agrochemistry 8: LSD in the Archive 9: Arthur Stoll's Art 10: The Other Richard 11: Brainwashing PART II: WEAPON 12: The Trip Chamber 13: Alsos 14: The Missing Box 15: Advisor Kuhn 16: Pork Chops 17: LSD in America 18: Brain Warfare 19: CEO and CIA 20: The Case of Frank Olson 21: Menticide 22: Operation Midnight Climax PART III: NARCOTIC 23: Mösch-Rümms 24: Bulk Order 25: LSDJFK 26: The Revolt of the Guinea Pigs 27: The Bear 28: Elvis Meets Nixon 29: A Case of Wine 30: Light Vader Hofmann Epilogue: LSD for Mom