Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary, A Biography by Robert Greenfield

Category: Biography Grade: B-

I think it kind of sums up Timothy Leary's life when you realize that pretty much nobody under the age of 30 today has any idea who he was. The "world-changing" psychedelic movement really came to nothing. I can't remember the last time I heard about LSD in any discussion other than nostalgic ones. According to Greenfield (and not a big surprise), Leary was an extraordinarily egotistical guy who went wherever the wind blew him, as long as it kept him in the public eye -- from Harvard professor, to LSD-advocate, to new-age guru, to prison escapee, to revolutionary and, all the time, to huckster.

The book somehow does manage to maintain your attention even though, viewed in hindsight, Leary's life never really amounted to much. Its easily summed up as "find a substance - take it - see what happens". Its not a very flattering biography. It does, however, include side trips to look at most of the interesting names from the 60s - Allen Ginsburg, Jerry Garcia, Jerry Rubin, Stokely Carmichael, etc. It would have been a better book if Greenfield had spent a little more time on these other folks around Leary that really made the 60s what they were. Again, you're left with the feeling that Leary was just a sideshow.

Its hard to recommend this book to anybody that wasn't a young adult in the 60s. Without that basis it'll probably bore you to tears. With the 60s as an "as-lived" background, especially if, unlike me, you were in to the drug culture/psychedelic movement, you'll probably find it interesting.