ISBN 1-901250-11-3 (UK pbk)

"LSD is a mind-bending illegal drug and its widespread use today has a bizarre background. Startling evidence shows that scientists and psychiatrists have helped to promote its use -- with more than a little help from the CIA and the British security services.

"This book investigates the mysterious people who turned LSD-tripping into a popular recreational pastime, including the buccaneers with links to organised crime. The author unravels an extraordinary story of double-dealing, intrigue and betrayal as the drug's proponents became overnight millionaires -- and officialdom turned a blind eye.

"ACID - the Secret History of LSD catalogues how the drug was used to treat mental illness and for extensive mind-control trials - including sex experiments with scientists watching through one-way mirrors. It concludes that LSD became a vehicle for the security agencies to penetrate youth culture and radical groups.

"A pivotal role in this fascinating story was played by the shadowy figure of Ron Stark who emerges as one of the Godfathers of the acid business in Britain and the US. Finally, the book tries to answer the question - who exactly was Ron Stark, and who controlled him?" [jacket blurb, UK pbk, 1998]

"The guys who run things... are very interested in psychology, and drugs in particular. They want to use drugs for warfare, for espionage, for brainwashing, for control." --Mary Pinchot (lover of John F Kennedy and Timothy Leary).

"David Black writes for Lobster magazine (among others), so his research credentials are definitely bonafide. The story covers familiar territory...MK-Ultra, CIA, LSD. The emphasis in this book is on the multifarious Ron Stark and the Brotherhood of Eternal Love drug syndicate, with considerable coverage of the psychedelic scene in England.

"As the book was put together rather quickly, there are quite a few textual errors. These should be corrected in the next edition." --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , January 1998).