[Ebook] Reading Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immorta

One of the key enigmas of cultural history has been the identiy of a sacred plant called Soma in the ancient Rig Veda of India. Mr. Wasson has aroused considerable attention in learned circles and beyond by advancing and documenting the thesis that Soma was a hallucinogenic mushroom - none other than the Amanita muscaria, the fly-agaric that until recent times was the center of shamanic rites among the Siberian and Uralic tribesmen. In his presentation he throws fascinating light on the role of mushrooms in religious ritual. A section on the post-Vedic history of Soma is contributed by the Sanskrit scholar Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty.<br /><br />This edition faithfully reproduces the text and all but two of the many color and black-and-white illustrations of the original, lavishly printed, deluxe edition.