Aldous Huxley became a pioneer in the (practically nonexistent) field of modern psychedelic literature in 1954 when he published The Doors of Perception, a short but detailed book about his experience with mescaline. Many people would hesitate to publish a book about such a controversial and personal topic even today, half a century later, but Huxley staked his claim smack dab in the middle of the 1950s. The term “psychedelic” hadn’t even been coined yet (though Huxley would contribute to its creation a few years later).

This book represents one of the first and best-known “trip reports”, at least in the West, placing it alongside classic documents like Albert Hofmann’s 1943 journal, which details the first ever LSD trip. By introducing curious Westerners to the idea of the psychedelic experience, and to mescaline in particular, Huxley opened the doors of perception for generations of psychonauts. They haven’t closed since.