PIHKAL, and TIHKAL

[brekk]

Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved: A Chemical Love Story
Tryptamines I Have Known And Loved: The Continuation

An excellent pair of book by Alexander Shulgin and his wife Ann Shulgin. The second half of each book has a list of different psychoactive substances, and the complex organic chemistry synthesis to make them.

The first half of each is an excellent autobiography about the period when he worked with these substances. From his beginnings as a pharmaceutical research chemist looking at an unremarkable group of alkaloids, to holding gethering of friends to collect detailed descriptions of the effects of many different psychoactive substances.

If you're interested in drugs (like me ) they're an excellent read, and if not, they're an excellent inside look at the world of psychoactive drugs, which are sadly often grouped with most normally abused drugs.