Design for dying

264 Pages·2011·13.11 MB·English

by  Leary, Timothy, 1920-1996

W'^^ : A'X^'.-'- 1f :-
LEA^Y
TliVIOTHY
M
C T Y
I l-i
TIMOTHY
LEARY
IS DEAD.
As the fringe
guru himself put
it, "Mademoiselle Cancel
moved in to share [his]
body." But in the days
before he died, Leary
never one to miss an
opportunityfor a party-
used his approaching
death to create an
Optimism, courage, joy,
and were
spirituality
central to Leary'sfinal
days and his death.
Design for Dying I Pary'
last book shows us how
we too can make
dying
the high point of life.
Irreverent
/'s parting shot
new ways for the
living
us to take contro! of
jrmine when and how we
plan for "directed
Drchestrate to reflect
continued on back flanl

Design for Dying

G^
^D E S
I
FOR
lOYING,
3
TIMOTHY LEARY
WITH SIRIUS ^^JW
R. U.
Harper<^ge
^w
Imprinto/HarperSanFrancisco
DESIGN FOR DYING. Copyright 1997 by Futique Trust. All rights reserved.
Printedin theUnitedStatesofAmerica.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedor
reproduced in anymannerwhatsoeverwithoutwritten permission exceptin
the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For
information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New
York,NY10022.
H2irperEdgeWehSite:http://www.harpercollins.com/harperedge
HarperCollins, HarperSanFrancisco^'^, and HarperEdge^"^ are trademarks
ofHarperCollinsPublishersInc.
FIRSTEDITION
DesignedbyLauraLindgren
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Leary,TimothyFrancis
Designfordying/TimothyLearywithR.U. Sirius. 1sted.
cm.
p.
PartsofthisbookareparaphrasedfrompreviouswritingsbyTimothy
Leary.
ISBN0-06-018700-X (cloth)
ISBN0-06-092866-2
(pbk.)
1. Death. I. Sirius,R.U. II. Title.
BD444.L415 1997
128'.5 dc21 97-6846
987654321
97 98 99 00 01 (RRD) 10
Contents
Credits u vii
INTRODUCTION
byTimothyLeary u 1
INTRODUCTION byR.U. Sirius u 7
PART ONE: LIVING
1. WhatIs the MeaningofLife? u 13
2. Cybernautics: ModernAlchemy u 45
3. Language u 59
4. Drugs u 67
5. Psychology u 73
6. Mutation u 83
PART TWO: DYING
7. Dying? ThrowaHouse Party! u gg
8. One LastTaboo for the Road u 107
9. Design forApproaching Death u 121
10. Death Is the Ultimate Trip u 131
PART THREE: DESIGNER DYING
11. Picking anAlternative Tech(nique) from the
EvolutionaryMenu u 143
12. The Cryonics Option u 153
13. Nanotechnology u I6I
14. The Twenty-firstCentury: Cyborgization and
Postbiological ImmortalityOptions u 167
15. TimothyLeary's Final Escape u 175
addendum: TimothyLeary's Dying Performance as
Remembered byHis Friends u i7g