''Flashbacks: A Personal and Cultural History of an Era'' is

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

's autobiography, published in 1983. It was reprinted in 1990 and 1997. The new edition has a foreword by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, and a new afterword by Leary. A double cassette album which contains Leary reading selections of ''Flashbacks'' was published under the same name in 1989 by Dove Books on Tape, Inc.

Publishing details

''Flashbacks'' was published by Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles, on May 1, 1983 (hardcover, ). It was reprinted in 1990 by Tarcher (paperback, ), and reprinted by Tarcher again in 1997 (paperback, ).

Reception

The celebrity doctor

Andrew Weil Andrew Thomas Weil (, born June 8, 1942) is an American celebrity doctor who advocates for alternative medicine including the 4-7-8 breathing technique. Early life and education Early years Andrew Thomas Weil was born in Philadelphia on June 8 ...

described the book as having, '...solid information about the psychedelic revolution of the Sixties' while the psychiatrist

Rick Strassman Rick Strassman is an American clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He has held a fellowship in clinical psychopharmacology research at the University of California San Diego and was Profess ...

said he used the book, '...to avoid repeating Leary's mistakes in his own research'. “I hid from the press," Strassman said, "kept religion and spirituality out of my writings while I was doing research, avoided studying undergraduates, studied no more than one student per department if I did use students as volunteers… and made certain my data were more important than anything else”. John Higgs suggests that ''Flashbacks'' contains, '...embellishments, point scoring and omissions'. He suggests however, that 'despite its flaws, there is still much about the book to praise'. Leary's biographer Robert Greenfield writes that much of what Leary "reported as fact in ''Flashbacks'' is pure fantasy".

References

1983 non-fiction books Books by Timothy Leary English-language books {{lit-bio-book-stub