A short life of the author
Albert Hofmann (1906–2008) was a Swiss chemist at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel who first synthesised lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) in 1938 while researching ergot alkaloids. On April 19, 1943, he accidentally absorbed a small quantity through his fingertips and experienced the first intentional LSD trip — riding his bicycle home through Basel in a state of profound perceptual alteration, an event commemorated as “Bicycle Day.”
Major Works
LSD: My Problem Child (LSD — Mein Sorgenkind, 1979, McGraw-Hill English edition 1980) — Hofmann’s memoir of the discovery, his account of LSD’s early promise in psychiatry and its subsequent prohibition, and his philosophical reflections on the relationship between chemistry and consciousness. The book is the essential primary source on LSD’s origin.
Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers (with Richard Evans Schultes, 1979) — a beautifully illustrated survey of psychoactive plants across cultures.
Hofmann lived to 102, remaining lucid and intellectually active, and continued to advocate for the careful scientific study of psychedelic compounds until his death.
Collecting Hofmann
LSD: My Problem Child (1980, McGraw-Hill) first English-language editions are the most collected title — fine copies bring $200–$600. The German first edition (LSD — Mein Sorgenkind, 1979, Klett-Cotta) is rarer. Signed copies are available but increasingly scarce; Hofmann signed books at symposia and through correspondence into his nineties. Plants of the Gods first editions (1979, McGraw-Hill) with Schultes are also collected, particularly for the botanical illustrations.