The Delicious Grace of Moving One's Hand: Intelligence is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac
Written over 30 years and collected by the high priest of the 1960s counterculture before his death in 1997, these spirited meditations, musings and rants highlight the centerpiece of Leary's famous mantra, "Tune in, Turn on, Drop Out." Leary constantly sounds his theme--"If it FEELS good, it probably IS good"--but his interests are far-ranging: sexual repression, clitoridectomy, the sexual politics of the cold war, cybersex, pornography, tantric sex, Jungian synchronicity and, of course, LSD. That most of these pieces are transcribed lectures (more than half the book is devoted to his famous series of talks at the Free University at Berkeley in 1969) may account for their breezily compelling tone. Although the writing and ideas are clearly bound to their cultural moment (the collection is rife with 1960s psychobabble), much here remains fresh and relevant. "Sexy Centerfolds" is a sprightly and on-target analysis of right-wing politics, fundamentalism and sexual repression that targets "scornographers" Edwin Meese, Ronald Reagan and the Ayatollah Khomeini, while "Psychedelic Psychology" neatly delineates how the creation of the disdained "other" functions in U.S. politics. Although Leary fans will not be deterred by the lack of footnoting and annotations, the collection may leave younger readers who are curious about Leary's legacy wishing for more context than Daniel Weizmann provides in his brief introduction. (Feb.)Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.