Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley delves into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most insightful thinkers. In this new biography, Jake Poller presents a rich and lucid account of the different phases of Huxley's career. From the early satirist who captured the glamorous despair of the postwar generation, Huxley evolved into a committed pacifist during the 1930s.

The 1940s saw Huxley as a spiritual seeker, and by the 1950s, he emerged as a psychedelic sage, affirming the spiritual potential of mescaline and LSD. He later became a New Age prophet, particularly noted for his work in Island.

Although Huxley is perhaps best known for Brave New World, Poller asserts that it is The Perennial Philosophy, The Doors of Perception, and Island—Huxley's blueprint for a utopian society—that have left a lasting cultural impact.