8 Best Terence McKenna Books (2024)

Bio

McKenna is the perfect person to teach you about the effects of different types of plants and psychedelics that can be found across the globe. He lived between 1946 and 2000 and during his life, became an excellent ethnobotanist, mystic, psychonaut, author, and a person who has helped many through his work. 

Writing

McKenna has written several mind-blowing books and some of the top Terence McKenna books are a wonderful way to learn about plants, about the human mind, beliefs, consciousness, and so much more.

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Best Terence McKenna Books

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True Hallucinations

 

Wild Experiments

True Hallucinations is the first choice we have to offer you on our Mckenna book list and is the perfect one if you want to discover much about the author. Inside, he talks a lot about himself, his process of thinking, his history, and much more that makes it a lot easier to get to know the true McKenna. 

There are many exciting topics discussed inside that potentially make this the best Terence McKenna book ever, one being how Terence does wild experiments while being mentally induced with mushrooms from the Amazon.

McKenna’s Ideas

He was no stranger to plants so you could say he knew what he was doing. Terence was really bent on the fact that psychedelic drugs could be the answer to so many of man’s questions which is why he used them to conduct countless experiments.  One crucial thing to get out in the open before you decide to have a read at this book is to understand that Terence Mckenna’s writing is not very direct in this book.

This is sort of a way for you to deconstruct his findings and messages he wants everyone to know. There are many realizations here from his discoveries and his theories. The reason that this book is so amazing is because there is a lot to learn about him personally and about his way of thinking. It’s the perfect book to get to know Terence. 

Exciting Conclusions

There are some far-fetched conclusions inside, but it’s still exciting to read until the end and find out what this brilliant man was trying to see. It also one of Mckenna’s books ranked as the best-selling. After all, he was excellent in so many fields and was a very intelligent man. To make you even more excited, the book offers a story to keep you entertained while learning all of the things we mentioned.

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The Archaic Revival

 

Interviews and Speeches

This book confirms just how amazing of a person McKenna was, especially when it comes to speaking and his lectures. He is best when speaking as his entertaining and very creative persona manages to capture any and every audience before him. 

The Archaic Revival is one of McKenna’s best books because of the collection of exciting interviews and speeches inside. His favorite topics like the benefits of Amazonian mushroom-induced hallucinations. You get to read about some of his physical experiences and trips with shamans and also about some of his drug-induced trips where things tend to get a bit deeper and more interesting.

Deeper Meaning

In most cases, when you read a book by this man, you should always know that there is some type of hidden meaning behind most of his words. Many of the best-selling Terence McKenna books have this feature and it’s very exciting to look for such meaning and trying to grasp what this brilliant man is trying to tell you. 

The collection of essays filled with many interesting interviews with Terence is enough to keep you entertained for quite a while. The book has 288 pages filled with pure excitement so that you don’t get bored and get excited for the next amazing Terence Mckenna’s quote.

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The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries

 

Co-Authored

The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries is a book that is about to open your eyes to many topics that you’ve probably never thought much about. Terence has a huge part in this book but it is also written by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism and so much more.

This is one of the best-rated Terence McKenna books out there and it brings you a collection of very intriguing anecdotes, interviews, and legends that bring a new meaning to a lot of things mentioned inside. 

Pagan Magic

A huge topic discussed inside is Pagan Magic and Paganism. These authors discuss how beliefs became the standards of ancient Pagan Magic. The journey of exploration inside about fairies, spirits, magic, and many more topics that many find to be unreal is going to get you hooked quite easily and those 500+ pages will become surprisingly easy to go through. 

The Science Behind It All

As interesting it is to read about all of the Celtic content and the supernatural topics, there is something else that makes this book one of the most popular Terence McKenna books. The scientific exploration behind it all is one of the most interesting parts of the book. You get to read about Celtic fairies and explore discussions about whether they and many more supernatural beings exist or not.

Evans-Wents throws some very logical and mind-boggling conclusions as well and everything you are going to read here is intriguing to think about. Many will not agree and many will. It depends on whether you like to read about things like these. If you do, then this book should be part of your Terence Mckenna reading list.

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Plan, Plant, Planet

 

Message about Culture

McKenna wrote this book as a way to get his message out to the people, his message about culture, our way of living, and society. Inside the book, you are going to discover this man’s thoughts on these topics and the way he looks at things differently which isn’t always a bad thing like we’ve made it to be. 

As always, McKenna likes to mention in his books that he fully supports the use of psychedelics as a way to improve our lives and the way we see things. McKenna wants everyone to know that we are taking in too much of the already-made culture and that we should create our own. When you think about it, the cultures that exist now were made at some point by us so what he is saying makes a lot of sense. 

Pushing the Boundaries

As you read further, the message being delivered inside the book becomes clearer and clearer. The reason why this is one of the most Terence Mckenna recommended books you will read is that his words create open-mindedness and create a sense of freedom as you explore and discover some of his own experiences.

What makes this book even better are the topics inside dedicated to drugs, plants, biological diversity, symbiosis, and more. You are going to read in-depth analyses about why people take drugs, how to search for real values, mutual connections and symbiosis, and many other similar topics.

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History Ends in Green

 

Achieving Symbiosis

History Ends in Green is another series of insightful lectures by the one and only McKenna. His dream vision of achieving a symbiosis between our planet and all living things is presented wonderfully in this book and he continues to explore and discuss his findings with you once more. 

The focus of this book is human history seen through psychedelic vision. We already know from other best McKenna books how he feels about psychedelics but not everyone is supportive of his way of life.

Psychedelic Utopia

In this book, Terence will show you an overview of our history and paint a picture of how life would have been in a psychedelic utopia where we use the plants that nature has provided us to live a natural and happy life. 

Human potential is the ultimate point being discussed in this book. If you want to learn what could have been and what can still be, how we can reach our ultimate forms and become the nature beings intended us to be. 

Utopia vs Dystopia

The series of audio lectures you are about to listen to are going to introduce you to the exciting world Terence lived in. It’s quite exciting to listen to this man speak and hear his thoughts on a magnificent utopia where there would be nothing but joy, happiness, and peace.

One of the thrilling topics that make this book one of the best Terence McKenna books is how a psychedelic utopia was overcome by a series of prepotent forces and turned the world into an anti-psychedelic dystopia. All of this, and lots more await your opinion.

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The Invisible Landscape

 

Experiments

Here is an overwhelming book by Terence and his brother Dennis McKenna that explores many of Terence’s favorite topics such as psychedelics, hallucinogens, the human mind, and our existence. The exploration you are about to take a look at begins as the brothers come under the influence of a mixture of hallucinogenic mushrooms and Ayahuasca in the Amazon. 

This experiment is the first part of the book as the McKenna brothers achieve an enhanced perception of something called the audible effect. Their psychedelic influence is a necessary step to achieving what they set out to do and you will find out exactly what as you read the book yourself. 

Time Waves

Another quite intriguing topic discusses in this book is something called time waves. There are going to be many scientific insights throughout the book so it might get a bit hard to keep up at times but as long as you stay focused everything will start making more sense. 

The I Ching is something of great importance in this book as well. It comes from ancient China and is said to be used for predicting the future. It’s a book, or text of wisdom that holds many secrets and Terence explores these secrets under the enhanced influence of psychedelics. This is a combination not to be taken lightly

Shamanism

One of the last topics discussed inside is Shamanism. What better way to learn about something or someone that has the power to alter consciousness and achieve many things that can’t even be imagined. This is exactly what Shamanism is and a person with the knowledge and power to do all of this is involved and known as a Shaman.

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Global Perspectives and Psychedelic Poetics

 

Power and Control

This book is one of the most insightful pieces of content you are ever going to hear about psychedelics, the government, and the connection between the two. It’s one of the best books by Terence McKenna that has the power to change lives.

What you can expect to read inside is, like many of his books, related to various psychedelics, their effects, and potential to improve our lives, but also about how certain forces are trying to take this away from humans for power, control, and other reasons. 

Deep Knowledge

McKenna will surprise you with his knowledge and thoughts on politics and its relation to psychedelics and similar topics. He has always wanted to inspire people to achieve greatness in life and a happy state of living.

He includes, in many of his books as well as in this one, that things like psychedelics, drugs, art, mediation, and similar things only open our minds and allow us to see our full potential and meaning in life while governments only try to prohibit this and to erase the idea from our minds. 

True or False

Now, these are some strong accusations but they don’t have to be. Everything you see inside is just thoughts this man had and they can make pretty hard statements and logical conclusions. They do make sense for some and not for others, it depends on a variety of factors and whether the person is more open-minded than others. 

Terence didn’t force anyone to take his side and to listen to his opinions. He was a man who tried to help others, not make their lives worse. There have been, and still are, countless Terence McKenna book reviews that state how much this man’s words have helped them. It just goes to show how great it can be to become a bit more open-minded and hear what others have to say.

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Psychedelic Thoughts

 

Various Topics

The last book we have to show you and another one of the most popular Terence McKenna books is Psychedelic Thoughts. This is a book that, once again, explores McKenna’s thoughts on various experiences while under the influence of psychedelics. But that’s not nearly all there is. You also get to hear his thoughts on topics such as mapping hyperspace, archaic revival, the future of the human race, hermeticism and alchemy, and a lot more. 

No matter where you search, you will always find that McKenna always has something to do with psychedelics but this man was nothing if not responsible and always under control while working with any type of psychedelic plant.

Wonderful Read

The is another edited Terence Mckenna book collection of some of his most insightful and influential speeches ever. Many people will agree with the things he mentioned inside and it’s a wonderful read for those who are keen on learning more about psychedelic experiences and shamanism. 

The book barely has a negative rating and this might have something to do with the fact that all of the content inside is quite insightful and offers a lot to learn for many. No matter what others might say about Terence, the fact that he was a brilliant man filled with lots of potential, knowledge, and had a mind like none other will always be true. 

Open Mind Required

One thing is still for sure, even Terence Mckenna’s best book is not for everyone. His books speak to open-minded people and offer a way to view the world that is different than most others. Getting to know McKenna through at least one of his books like this one would be an amazing way to learn what this man is trying to say before judging him.

So if you are asking what is a good book by Terrence Mckenna to start with, here is your answer. Picking any one of his books to start with will be the first step to discovering a new world in which McKenna believes there would be nothing but happiness and limitless potential.

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