How to Change Your Mind — Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan's 2018 book was a hinge moment in the public rehabilitation of psychedelic science. What could have been sensational or credulous was neither. It was reported patiently, tested personally, and written with the care of a journalist who understood that the topic could not survive careless treatment.

The book covers the history of LSD and psilocybin research in the mid-twentieth century, the political events that shut it down, the two-decade underground period, and the cautious return of clinical research beginning in the late 1990s. Pollan's own experiences with psilocybin, ayahuasca and 5-MeO-DMT are recounted with unusual directness.

For readers unfamiliar with the field, it remains the single best entry point. It is not the last book to read; it is one of the first.