This is a well-written and carefully researched book that combines biographies of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson with a history of psychedelic science in the 20th century. It will be of interest to people who care about Mead or Bateson's ideas, and to those interested in psychedelics, Cold War science, the OSS, the CIA, and the 1960s.
The story about Mead and Bateson begins in the 1930s with their ethnographic work in southeast Asia and follows them until their deaths. There is a lot of material that was new to me about their direct and indirect associations with the OSS (precursor to the CIA) and with the CIA. Some other reviewers appear to have a personal axe to grind with the author out of a misplaced desire to protect Mead or Bateson's reputations.
The book in no way sets out to attack their reputations. Far from it. It is extremely respectful of their status as scientists, cultural figures, and original thinkers. Defenders of Bateson and Mead's virtue apparently feel offended that their (Mead's and Bateson's) well-documented links to the OSS, CIA, and the "mind control", "truth drug", and other Cold War drug experiments have been given further exposure.
Given the ample documentation, including plenty of primary source material, it seems beyond any reasonable doubt that both Mead and Bateson were in fact close associates of MK-Ultra scientists and organizers and were, to differing extents during different times, both directly and indirectly involved in MK-Ultra and related programs to test psychedelics, as well as other drugs and hypnosis, on both willing volunteers and unwitting victims.
Bateson's direct involvement in psychedelic research at the Mental Research Institute seems indisputable, and the cast of characters there has been shown, in congressional testimony from the 1970s, to have included CIA agents or consultants.
Bateson is portrayed as having resented, resisted, and regretted the unethical parts of the program, and is also portrayed as having ultimately withdrawn from anything that was too closely associated with the CIA. But it is also beyond doubt that Bateson was a member of the OSS during WWII and that his memo to the OSS is cited by the CIA official historian as a founding document of the CIA.
These may be uncomfortable facts for those who admire Bateson and Mead, but they are true. And of course, to be on the side of the OSS in the early 1940s was to be a hero and a patriot. The same might be said about Cold War involvement with the CIA during the 1950s. Bateson and Mead are always portrayed as having patriotic and utopian motives for their actions.
Bateson's work with John Lilly on dolphins is also discussed, but again Bateson is described as being only briefly involved, leaving of his own volition, and not being involved in the most heinous actions, like giving LSD to dolphins.
Overall, this was a very engaging history. If you think Mead or Bateson are beyond reproach, perhaps some parts of the book might rub you the wrong way. But as someone who has always admired both Mead and Bateson, I came away admiring them more while also understanding more about their fallibility and humanity.
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Reviews with images
Fascinating, Expertly Researched and Engaging Read
This is an exciting read about a fascinating period of history, brilliantly written and researched by a highly acclaimed UC Santa Cruz History professor.I was excited to get my hands on this book after reading positive reviews in the New Yorker, The NYT and listening to an interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Tripping on Utopia delivers even more than these stellar reviews promise and is definitely worth a read.As other positive reviewers have noted-there seems to be some kind of organized negative reviewer attack happening that seems to be more focused on character assassination of the author than the actual quality of the book. These reviewers seem to have thrown their critical thinking abilities out the window and resorted to ad hominem attacks rather than real intellectual discourse.An example would be this sentence from a recent review: "He has gotten lots of money and press by cashing in on Margaret Mead's fame." How does this reviewer know how much money Breen has gotten from sales of a book that has been out for around two weeks?As anyone who knows anything about being an author these days knows its not a money making game unless you have a huge best-seller and a movie deal in the works. Resorting to this form of weak and immature form of attack only emphasizes the shaky ground this group of reviewers stand on.The book is about much more than Bateson and Mead's relationship with the psychedelic world, as the professional reviewers in the NYT, the New Yorker and other reputable publications make clear.
