The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, John M. Allegro. First American Edition.

The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross:  A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity Within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East John M. Allegro  First American edition, first printing of Allegro's cult classic in which he posits that Christianity, among other religions, is the atavistic vestige of an ancient fertility cult in which the object of worship was the psychedelic mushroom amanita muscaria. He further argues that Jesus never existed as a historical figure but was rather a mythological creation of early Christians under the influence of psychoactive mushroom extracts. The controversy and frenzy upon its publication led to the publisher's apology and Allegro's resignation from his university position, although several recent studies have given new purported evidence and led to calls for his theories to be re-evaluated by the mainstream. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1970. Publisher's original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt; pp. xxii, 349. A near fine cop