ApexNews
Return to Main
Book

A Short, Strange Trip: An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon

2026

Purchase on Amazon

Synopsis

Tag along with clever guide John O'Connor as he leads us on a gonzo journey through the history of psychedelics, the Amazon rainforest, and into the cosmic dimensions of our own minds. This will be the trip of a lifetime.

March 4th, 1971: Deep in the Colombian rainforest, a motley crew of "psychonauts" prepared for what they believed would be the ultimate experiment. Convinced that a mixture of powerful hallucinogenic plants held the key to unlocking human consciousness, they soon found themselves entering hyperspace.

The return journey was... complicated.

Present day: Acclaimed journalist John O'Connor is fascinated by this forgotten expedition. What really happened in those jungle depths? Armed with decades-old field notes, new interviews, and a healthy dose of curiosity, O'Connor ventures into the same Amazon territory, retracing the psychonauts' steps through the remote Putumayo in search of a legendary hallucinogen called ukuè —and the truth about an "experiment" that's been quietly gathering dust.

Working alongside indigenous Uitoto people who bore witness to it all, O'Connor explores how humanity's relationship with psychedelics has shaped everything from ancient religion to modern medicine. But as he journeys deeper into both the rainforest and the cosmic dimensions these substances reveal, one question keeps nagging at him:

Were the psychonauts onto something truly profound—or just profoundly stoned?

Suggested Reading

Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind

Until the twentieth century, scientists investigating the effects of drugs on the mind did so by experimenting on themselves. Vivid descriptions of drug experiences sparked insights across the mind sciences, pharmacology, medicine, and philosophy. Accounts in journals and literary fiction inspired a...

View Details

Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom – A Lively, Definitive Study of Hallucinogenic Fungi, Myths, and Science

In Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom, ecologist and scholar Andy Letcher presents a lively, skeptical, and meticulously researched exploration of how hallucinogenic fungi transformed from forgotten or reviled organisms into iconic symbols of modern counterculture. Letcher dismantles t...

Purchase on Amazon View Details

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you accept our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.