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Flashbacks
Dr. Timothy Leary's passion affected an entire culture and influenced modern world history. Flashbacks, Leary's own account of his career as "an accomplished clinical psychologist at Harvard University, a dabbler in Eastern mysticism, a fugitive and convict, a stand-up comedian and actor, a writer and software designer and exponent of cybernetics" - (The New York Times), is the only book written by him that directly addresses the issues, people, and history of his personal awakening and crusade.
407 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
Timothy Leary
157 books808 followersTimothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, modern pioneer and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD. He coined and popularized the catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 31, 2007
Timothy Leary was free, in a way that a lot of people are not. His autobiography tells crazy stories about tripping on acid, falling in love, escaping from prison. In an additional chapter added only about 1 year before his death, he talks about the future and how computers are both the modern means of working, communication, and drugs. This chapter is stunningly accurate, in certain regards, and discusses the likely future of human interactions. Timothy Leary was not just a stoner; he also served with the army, graduated from prestigious programs, was the head psychologist at the University level, and was a philosopher, and a father. This book really makes the point that people are not one dimensional.
August 14, 2007
There's no doubt Dr. Leary played a particular, if self aggrandized role in the 60's mythology. The man liked his hedonism & drugs, was proud of his brain and rebelled in a pretty notorious manner.This book retells some of the troubles he got into along the way. I got to meet and spend a day with Dr Leary before he died, and asked him personally about some of the infamous episodes retold from his point of view in this book. When questioned about whether he ever worked for undercover or as a snitch for the Feds, let's just say the Dr. was adamant and stuck to his guns. I would also add that he was somewhat evasive when certain topics were breached. I also tried to convince him that Johnny Cash wasn't simply a "a square"...not sure he was buying that, since Leary had already mentally boxed Johnny up with Nixon and the rest of the Christian establishment. All I can say for sure is that, somewhere along the way Leary's heart was broken, and his favorite song was "Bitch" by the Rolling Stones.
December 15, 2017
Un 4 llarg
Aquí en podeu llegir la ressenya sencera:
http://especulacionsapeudepagina.blog...
Una autobiografia molt interessant i amb molt moments brillants i èpics.
Un admirable repàs a la història, no només de l'experimentació amb les drogues, sinó també de la contracultura nord-americana.
Aquí en podeu llegir la ressenya sencera:
http://especulacionsapeudepagina.blog...
Una autobiografia molt interessant i amb molt moments brillants i èpics.
Un admirable repàs a la història, no només de l'experimentació amb les drogues, sinó també de la contracultura nord-americana.
August 27, 2015
Overall, I liked the book. The beginning was trhilling and I read that breathlessly, on the other hand, the middle part (short period in Asia) bored me to death. But this part was not so long and book went back to interesting topics and stayed that way till the end.
I would recommend it to people who would like to know more about mind-changing substances from the most competent person - Timothy Leary.
I would recommend it to people who would like to know more about mind-changing substances from the most competent person - Timothy Leary.
September 4, 2013
One of the best autobiographies I've read. It reads like a thriller. Some of the events may not have happened at all, some may have happened a bit differently but that's an inherent part of legendary figures' lives.
August 31, 2014
Remarkable tale of a man beyond his time. Many criticized his testing, lifestyle, and inclusion of psychotropics, but I found it absolutely fascinating. He managed to live in an incredibly wild life.
May 21, 2016
Excellent read...funny as hell in places particularly the interactions with G. Gordon Liddy...compare chapter about Liddy's raid on the Millbrook Estate with same event described by Liddy in his autobiography "WILL." One of them is insane...you be the judge.
August 31, 2024
THE FORMER HARVARD PROFESSOR AND LSD "GURU" LOOKS OVER HIS LIFE
Timothy Francis Leary (1920-1996) was an American psychologist and writer, who has written other books such as 'Your Brain Is God,' 'The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead,' 'The Politics of Ecstasy, etc.
He states that in 1959, "I had quit my post as Director of Psychological Research at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital... because I felt confused about my profession. For ten years my research team had been keeping score on the success-rate of psychotherapy. We found that no matter what kind of psychiatric treatment was used, the same discouraging results occurred. One third of the patients got better, one third stayed the same, one third got worse... for all its efforts, psychology still hadn't developed a way of significantly and predictably changing human behavior. I had found myself practicing a profession that didn't seem to work." (Pg. 16)
He argues, "Since psychedelic drugs expose us to different levels of perception and experience, use of them is ultimately a philosophic enterprise, compelling us to confront the nature of reality and the nature of our fragile, subjective belief systems... We discover abruptly that we have been programmed all these years, that everything we accept as reality is just social fabrication." (Pg. 33) Of his LSD and mescaline research at Harvard, he says, "We were on our own. Western psychological literature had almost no guides, no maps, no texts that even recognized the existence of altered states... We conducted the experiments in faculty homes, in front of comforting fireplaces, with candles instead of electric lights, and evocative music." (Pg. 42)
Of his program with prisoners, he claims that their "return" rate to prison was cut from 70% to 10%. (Pg. 88-89) Later, he adds, "We sensed that the time for a new humanist religion based on intelligent good-natured pluralism and scientific paganism had arrived." (Pg. 109)
Of his (and colleague Richard Alpert, later becoming "Ram Dass") firing from Harvard, he observes, "The official reason for my sacking was that I failed to show up for classes. A phony rap: I had completed all my course work. [Alpert] was ousted for something more romantic. He got caught in the middle of a love triangle involving an editor on the Harvard Crimson staff. It seems that Dick had been turning on a brilliant and handsome student... whose friend... denounced Dick in a fiery editorial. Dick's violation of our promise not to give drugs to undergraduates was thus brought to the attention of the authorities... I didn't want to be a professor anyway." (Pg. 166)
He recalls, "One morning, while I was ruminating in the shower about what kind of slogan would succinctly summarize the tactics for increasing intelligence, six words came to mind. Dripping wet... I walked to the study and wrote down this phrase: 'Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.' Later it became very useful in my function as cheerleader for change." (Pg. 253)
While on the run from authorities, he spent some time with the Black Panthers in Algeria (Pg. 304-305); he later coined the acronym S.M.I.I.L.E. that he promoted across the country with former nemesis G. Gordon Liddy [of Watergate infamy] (Pg. 372).
He concludes, "The discovery of drugs at the age of forty was an unexpected boon. Here was a direct method to regress the nervous system to the suggestible state where new reality programs could be imprinted. Exploration of one's neurological/genetic equipment can result in metamorphosis of a particularly beneficial kind---rejuvenilization, DNA's built-in warranty that the future will not be like the past... If I were in charge of evolutionary matters on this planet, I would... flood the place with advanced humans wired to take over peaceably and initiate the necessary changes. And behold! This is exactly what DNA seems to have done. Just when the situation looked hopeless, here came 76 million Americans... fresh, confident, programmed for innovation." (Pg. 375-376)
Leary's reputation as "brain-fried" is exaggerated; the portrait that emerges from this book is much more complex and interesting than one would guess from the mass media portraits.
Timothy Francis Leary (1920-1996) was an American psychologist and writer, who has written other books such as 'Your Brain Is God,' 'The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead,' 'The Politics of Ecstasy, etc.
He states that in 1959, "I had quit my post as Director of Psychological Research at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital... because I felt confused about my profession. For ten years my research team had been keeping score on the success-rate of psychotherapy. We found that no matter what kind of psychiatric treatment was used, the same discouraging results occurred. One third of the patients got better, one third stayed the same, one third got worse... for all its efforts, psychology still hadn't developed a way of significantly and predictably changing human behavior. I had found myself practicing a profession that didn't seem to work." (Pg. 16)
He argues, "Since psychedelic drugs expose us to different levels of perception and experience, use of them is ultimately a philosophic enterprise, compelling us to confront the nature of reality and the nature of our fragile, subjective belief systems... We discover abruptly that we have been programmed all these years, that everything we accept as reality is just social fabrication." (Pg. 33) Of his LSD and mescaline research at Harvard, he says, "We were on our own. Western psychological literature had almost no guides, no maps, no texts that even recognized the existence of altered states... We conducted the experiments in faculty homes, in front of comforting fireplaces, with candles instead of electric lights, and evocative music." (Pg. 42)
Of his program with prisoners, he claims that their "return" rate to prison was cut from 70% to 10%. (Pg. 88-89) Later, he adds, "We sensed that the time for a new humanist religion based on intelligent good-natured pluralism and scientific paganism had arrived." (Pg. 109)
Of his (and colleague Richard Alpert, later becoming "Ram Dass") firing from Harvard, he observes, "The official reason for my sacking was that I failed to show up for classes. A phony rap: I had completed all my course work. [Alpert] was ousted for something more romantic. He got caught in the middle of a love triangle involving an editor on the Harvard Crimson staff. It seems that Dick had been turning on a brilliant and handsome student... whose friend... denounced Dick in a fiery editorial. Dick's violation of our promise not to give drugs to undergraduates was thus brought to the attention of the authorities... I didn't want to be a professor anyway." (Pg. 166)
He recalls, "One morning, while I was ruminating in the shower about what kind of slogan would succinctly summarize the tactics for increasing intelligence, six words came to mind. Dripping wet... I walked to the study and wrote down this phrase: 'Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.' Later it became very useful in my function as cheerleader for change." (Pg. 253)
While on the run from authorities, he spent some time with the Black Panthers in Algeria (Pg. 304-305); he later coined the acronym S.M.I.I.L.E. that he promoted across the country with former nemesis G. Gordon Liddy [of Watergate infamy] (Pg. 372).
He concludes, "The discovery of drugs at the age of forty was an unexpected boon. Here was a direct method to regress the nervous system to the suggestible state where new reality programs could be imprinted. Exploration of one's neurological/genetic equipment can result in metamorphosis of a particularly beneficial kind---rejuvenilization, DNA's built-in warranty that the future will not be like the past... If I were in charge of evolutionary matters on this planet, I would... flood the place with advanced humans wired to take over peaceably and initiate the necessary changes. And behold! This is exactly what DNA seems to have done. Just when the situation looked hopeless, here came 76 million Americans... fresh, confident, programmed for innovation." (Pg. 375-376)
Leary's reputation as "brain-fried" is exaggerated; the portrait that emerges from this book is much more complex and interesting than one would guess from the mass media portraits.
November 8, 2022
"Until the age of forty, when I first took LSD, I was a typical American middle-aged man in the process of dying".---Timothy Leary
'Marijuana, marijuana, LSD, LSD. College kids are making it, high school kids are taking it. Why can't we?". I remember listening to that ditty in the fifth grade! There was nothing typical about the life of Dr. Timothy Leary, even before he discovered the wonders of LSD. He held a Chair at Harvard in clinical psychology and could have gone on to a brilliant career in that field. Instead, he stumbled into the hallucinogenic discovered by the Swiss during World War II and used by the CIA for mind-control experiments shortly thereafter. ("We must always thank the CIA for LSD", John Lennon used to say, without the slightest trace of irony.) By 1967 Leary estimated he "had probably taken over a thousand trips". He used his position at Harvard to urge an entire generation to "tune in, turn on and drop out". This promptly got him fired from Harvard; the best thing that could have happened to him. Leary was now free to preach and practice his acid philosophy, which earned him everything from a drug bust by FBI agent and future Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy, to an audience with John Lennon. Next came the inevitable imprisonment in California and the improbable but true breakout arranged by the Weather Underground Organization and the hejira to Algeria. Meanwhile, millions of Americans had experimented with the drug, including one Charles Manson. Leary soon soured on Algeria and cut a deal to do a few years in a US prison in return for snitching on his Weather Underground friends. By the time I caught up with him he was a radio DJ in Los Angeles playing Sixties oldies and trying to remember the Sixties. A true American original, these memoirs due justice to a man who was, by turns, enlightened, shady, revolutionary and treacherous .
'Marijuana, marijuana, LSD, LSD. College kids are making it, high school kids are taking it. Why can't we?". I remember listening to that ditty in the fifth grade! There was nothing typical about the life of Dr. Timothy Leary, even before he discovered the wonders of LSD. He held a Chair at Harvard in clinical psychology and could have gone on to a brilliant career in that field. Instead, he stumbled into the hallucinogenic discovered by the Swiss during World War II and used by the CIA for mind-control experiments shortly thereafter. ("We must always thank the CIA for LSD", John Lennon used to say, without the slightest trace of irony.) By 1967 Leary estimated he "had probably taken over a thousand trips". He used his position at Harvard to urge an entire generation to "tune in, turn on and drop out". This promptly got him fired from Harvard; the best thing that could have happened to him. Leary was now free to preach and practice his acid philosophy, which earned him everything from a drug bust by FBI agent and future Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy, to an audience with John Lennon. Next came the inevitable imprisonment in California and the improbable but true breakout arranged by the Weather Underground Organization and the hejira to Algeria. Meanwhile, millions of Americans had experimented with the drug, including one Charles Manson. Leary soon soured on Algeria and cut a deal to do a few years in a US prison in return for snitching on his Weather Underground friends. By the time I caught up with him he was a radio DJ in Los Angeles playing Sixties oldies and trying to remember the Sixties. A true American original, these memoirs due justice to a man who was, by turns, enlightened, shady, revolutionary and treacherous .
July 20, 2024
Really liked this book, was surprised how colorful and talented of a writer Tim proved himself to be here. Nothing mindblowing, just very enjoyable, very fun to read. If anyone wants to make the charge that Ol' Leary's brain got cooked on too much Lucy and his marbles spilt all-over the place and he talked funny ever since and was surfing Pluto from then on, they should read this before speaking further, or keep quiet. Only a very intelligent, sensitive, grounded (not to mention, funny, and lively) man, could've written like this. Only someone who truly loves life can sound this way even when describing the family-drama of their wee-years and their time in boot-camp and other seemingly trivial happenings, all with the enthusiasm that a kid shows towards a new teddy-bear and a chocolate bar left side-by-side on their pillow.. Lol. I would've liked to smoke a joint with him and shoot the shit on a patio somewhere. I already had a favorable image of Tim imposed on me from reading Robert Anton Wilson's books, in which he is often depicted reverently and with great respect, but it only really became my own image after I read this.
Now, I'll read his others.
Now, I'll read his others.
August 27, 2018
"Me entregué al gozo, como llevan siglos haciendo los místicos al echar un vistazo al otro lado de las cortinas y descubrir que este mundo -tan manifiestamente real- es en realidad un escenario minúsculo construido por la mente. Allí fuera (¿Allí dentro?) había un océano de posibilidades, otras realidades, un abanico infinito de programas para otros futuros.
(...) Lo siguiente fue una excursión a través de la evolución, oferta garantizada para todos los que contratan este tour cerebral. Resbalar por el tubo de la recapitulación hasta las antiguas salas de proyección del mesencéfalo: tiempo de serpientes, tiempo de peces, tiempo de atravesar la jungla de palmeras gigantescas, tiempo de las intricadas hojas de los helechos.
Observé con calma cómo la primera criatura marina salía de la orilla y me acosté con ella; la arena me raspaba la mejilla. Después me adentré flotando en el profundo océano verde. Hola, soy el primer ser viviente"
(...) Lo siguiente fue una excursión a través de la evolución, oferta garantizada para todos los que contratan este tour cerebral. Resbalar por el tubo de la recapitulación hasta las antiguas salas de proyección del mesencéfalo: tiempo de serpientes, tiempo de peces, tiempo de atravesar la jungla de palmeras gigantescas, tiempo de las intricadas hojas de los helechos.
Observé con calma cómo la primera criatura marina salía de la orilla y me acosté con ella; la arena me raspaba la mejilla. Después me adentré flotando en el profundo océano verde. Hola, soy el primer ser viviente"
September 22, 2017
Magnífico!! Qué vida notable!! Un viaje por la vida del científico Timothy Leary y una Norteamerica underground tratando de frenar los poderes fácticos de la mediocridad mental en tiempos de guerra fría Nixon, Kennedys, Aldous Huxley, Ken Kesey, Rolling Stones y Charles Manson, entre otros memorables.
Una enseñanza de libertad y que ese software llamado mente, no conoce límites cuando se le entregan las libertades necesarias para ello. La vida de un maestro, un tipo formidable que te hace despertar y reflexionar sobre el valor que le estás dando a tu experiencia vital. Un libro imperdible.
Una enseñanza de libertad y que ese software llamado mente, no conoce límites cuando se le entregan las libertades necesarias para ello. La vida de un maestro, un tipo formidable que te hace despertar y reflexionar sobre el valor que le estás dando a tu experiencia vital. Un libro imperdible.
July 26, 2017
I wrote a review. It never showed,vanished. I don't want to do over, so will just note that I enjoyed this book about a remarkable man who was quite productive in the classrooms at Harvard and other universities. He opened doors with his studies of LSD. His years in jail did not slow down this psychedelic psychologist of the 60's. And, he knew scads of intellectual celebrities and told all.
June 13, 2018
Lucid, visionary, independent, a true pioneer. Also very human. One of the most interesting lives I have ever heard of.
This book is informative, entertaining and you can pick up quite a few snippets of wisdom if you pay attention.
If you know about psychedelics, or actually, if you don't know about them, read this book.
This book is informative, entertaining and you can pick up quite a few snippets of wisdom if you pay attention.
If you know about psychedelics, or actually, if you don't know about them, read this book.
January 1, 2022
I found this a very lively book.
I was surprised how bored he was in Morroco after his escape from jail in The USA.
I would have thought as a psychologist with an interest in thesophy he would have found many interesting areas of study, such as Sufi dream interpretation and Sufi lodges.
Maybe it was his disintegrating marriage that caused the malaise ?
I was surprised how bored he was in Morroco after his escape from jail in The USA.
I would have thought as a psychologist with an interest in thesophy he would have found many interesting areas of study, such as Sufi dream interpretation and Sufi lodges.
Maybe it was his disintegrating marriage that caused the malaise ?
March 17, 2023
O primeiro 1/3 do livro é bem emcionante e bem divertido. Leary tem uma exploração pessoa muito livre, o que é interessante e mostra como a contra-cultura dos EUA se chocou com as instituições que se baseiam em hierarquia e autoridade.
No fim, o individualismo exacerbado é chato, e um ponto fraco da visão do Leary. É bem interessante, mas não é um John C. Lilly.
No fim, o individualismo exacerbado é chato, e um ponto fraco da visão do Leary. É bem interessante, mas não é um John C. Lilly.
February 15, 2019
It's not an exaggeration when I call this a life-changing book. Even though the focus is on psychedelics, it tackles other interesting topics worthy of your attention. Sometimes Timothy seems to be full of himself but it doesn't make the book any less enjoyable.
March 4, 2020
Mind bending and life changing book, an autobiographical masterpiece! Join Leary on his search for meaning, love, success, and everything in between. Timothy masterfully captures the essence of what it is to be a human being.
May 30, 2017
not very good
May 26, 2019
I thought this book was super entertaining and once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend this to anyone.
September 2, 2019
Didn't realise he was on the cusp of expanded consciousness for the masses before the man came down on his head. Left me needing more. Great read.
January 5, 2020
Intriguing. Dazzling. Necessary.
February 16, 2022
Just expected something else.
Read
August 26, 2022Some interesting parts, mainly the first and last quarter.
November 25, 2024
Fascinating!
December 22, 2024
The jumps in this book are insane. It starts with him talking about the science of LSD and ends with him escaping prison and fleeing the country. It's a fantastic ride I'd highly recommend
June 13, 2021
definitely worth a read, but feels way less comprehensive and deep than it could have been.
May 13, 2023
One star for the title and another one for the first chapter, which if I recall it correctly described his conception in scientific detail involving sperm cells and Fallopian tubes and whatnot. No stars at all for the rest, which got worse and worse until it was just about unintelligible by the end. Not the best ad for a lifetime of hallucinogens.
May 1, 2009
This is but one of several "autobiographies", although it attempts to highlight the whole sweep of his life up to that point (1980, 81). The fascinating thing is how much about Tim Leary is apocryphal: either because he said it and recanted having said it, or never said it and took credit for it (a very Irish sensibility). He dedicates many pages to capsule biographies of some of his friends and accomplices on a life that should remain in book form: Tim himself said that there were 24 different versions of him, and you got the one you deserved. Considering the 2 biographies that have been published since his deanimation in 1996, one a hatchet job by an ex-Rolling Stone writer who seems to have lived life during the 'sixties as a LOOK reporter. The other I can recommend: by John Higgs, a British author, called I Have America Surrounded.
June 22, 2008
great college reading. timothy leary was really smart and really crazy. he read lots of great books, whose authors he cites, escaped from prison, had a mexican resort for acid trips, tried to reduce recidivism with guided acid trips for convicts in his first experiences with acid at harvard, hung out with all sorts of literary folk. he had much more depth than the drug-experimenting frat house t-shirt gives him credit for.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews