This is the MySpace page for the biography "I Have America Surrounded - The Life of Timothy Leary", by John Higgs with a foreword by Winona Ryder. The book is out now - for more details go to the book's website.
I've put this page up to make it easy for anyone to fire questions at me about the book, Leary or whatever - and also as a handy place to blog, so thanks for dropping by and I hope to hear from you!
Cheers, jh
Some reviews:
"Enthralling" - MixMag, June 06 (4 Stars)
"Excellent" - dailygrail.com
"Following the recent publication of Robert Greenfield's exhaustive account of Leary, British journalist John Higgs casts a cooler eye over the extraordinary life of someone who was much more than a turn on, tune in, drop out soundbite. More an engaging cultural history than a judgement on his personality, a sure-footed grounding for the mud-slinging that's sure to come when two planned biopics hit the screen." - Metro, June 28th 06 (4 stars)
"A remarkable account of a remarkable man" - reFRESH issue 39
"At a time when university research projects are starting to replicate studies that our Harvard project published over 40 years ago, those who would like a deeper understanding of Tim Leary and his visionary work should read the eminently fair and balanced biography, by John Higgs, I Have America Surrounded." - Ralph Metzner, co-author of The Psychedelic Experience.
"An absolutely fascinating book", Robert Elms, BBC Radio London, July 5th 2006.
"Unlike Robert Greenfield's recent bio-tabloid or Leary's auto-biography "Flashbacks," "I Have America Surrounded" is a much more complete story of a fascinating, flawed, and yet undeniably brilliant mind. Higgs explores the motivations, misteps, and impact of Leary's works and life with insight from many of the people who were closest to Leary at the time including Brian Barritt, Michael Horowitz, and Joanna Harcourt-Smith. If you are looking for Timothy Leary 101, this is it." - Sean Kearney, increasinginteligence.com
"You will not want to put this book down - full of unbelievable, gripping adventures - get it!" - Weed World, June 06
"[Leary] gave credibility to the psychology of postmodernism. Whether he was courageous or crackpot is a matter of opinion - he was always high entertainment." - The Times, 18th June 06
"an exhilarating read, a stellar piece of work, a must-have" - dogmatika.com
"I Have America Surrounded manages to explore the multi-faceted personality of Timothy Leary with good sense and good humour – not the easiest of tasks when dealing with an individual who contradicted himself every couple of years. Higgs gives us a closer look at the many life-changing events which influenced the man, from the minor to the cataclysmic, and which may have been responsible for his chameleon-like ability to continually change (if not completely reverse!) his personal philosophies. Timothy Leary has the ability to polarise opinion to either of two extremes, but in this book John Higgs gives the reader a glimpse of the ‘man in the middle’ – an individual with a huge ego who wanted to save the world; a man of vast rational intellect who bravely (perhaps foolishly) ‘let go’ and stepped beyond the threshold." - Greg Taylor, Sub Rosa Issue 6
"a fascinating book about an extraordinary subject" - The Beat, May 06
