From the Publisher
Reading Stealing Fire, Mr. Lang-Willar said, he became convinced that nothing less than a ‘cultural awakening’ was underway.” — The New York Times
“A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D.” — Financial Times
“Stealing Fire is a beautifully written, must-read for anyone interested in living up to their full potential. Kotler and Wheal have produced a user-manual for your hacking your brain to drive high performance.” — Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize, co-chairman of Singularity University, bestselling author
“Stealing Fire cracks the secret code of peak performance so that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results.” — Cdr. Mark Divine (USN Ret.), New York Times best selling author, founder SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind
“Meticulously researched and innovatively conceptualized, Stealing Fire is not just a bible for the second psychedelic revolution (drugs not required), but a manual to getting more: out of your body, your mind, and your happiness.” — Neil Strauss, New York Times best-selling author of The Game
“An electrifying, fast-paced journey into the deep potential of the human brain.” — David Eagleman, Stanford University neuroscientist, bestselling author, presenter of PBS's The Brain
“Our linear lives and brains need to be thrown a curve on occasion and this is a masterpiece literary curveball.” — Chip Conley, bestselling author of Peak and Emotional Equations and former Head of Strategy for AirBnB
“Captures the unspoken essence of what men and women on the frontier of human experience, think and do to excel in creativity and performance.” — Michael Gervais, High Performance Psychologist to Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks
“Stealing Fire lays out exactly how to hack the brain...Kotler and Wheal have taken a major bite out of the unknown. If you’re at all interested in knowing how your mind works, this is imperative reading!” — Salim Ismail, founding executive director of Singularity University and bestselling author of Exponential Organizations
“Stealing Fire is a fantastic book about the future of humanity and everything that we can become. Based on incredible stories and cutting edge data, it reveals how our brain and body can be optimized to its greatest potential.” — Andrew Newberg, MD., director of research Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine and author of How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain
“The North Star we’ve been waiting forfinally a distillation of the upper reaches of the human experience unveiled! I am so excited for this book to reach the world!” — Jason Silva, artist, futurist, host of National Geographic's Brain Games
“[Stealing Fire is] well-written, well-documented, and significant work.” — Library Journal
Chip Conley
Our linear lives and brains need to be thrown a curve on occasion and this is a masterpiece literary curveball.
Michael Gervais
Captures the unspoken essence of what men and women on the frontier of human experience, think and do to excel in creativity and performance.
Peter Diamandis
Stealing Fire is a beautifully written, must-read for anyone interested in living up to their full potential. Kotler and Wheal have produced a user-manual for your hacking your brain to drive high performance.
Neil Strauss
Meticulously researched and innovatively conceptualized, Stealing Fire is not just a bible for the second psychedelic revolution (drugs not required), but a manual to getting more: out of your body, your mind, and your happiness.
Cdr. Mark Divine (USN Ret.)
Stealing Fire cracks the secret code of peak performance so that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results.
The New York Times
Reading Stealing Fire, Mr. Lang-Willar said, he became convinced that nothing less than a ‘cultural awakening’ was underway.
Financial Times
A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D.
Salim Ismail
Stealing Fire lays out exactly how to hack the brain...Kotler and Wheal have taken a major bite out of the unknown. If you’re at all interested in knowing how your mind works, this is imperative reading!
David Eagleman
An electrifying, fast-paced journey into the deep potential of the human brain.
Andrew Newberg
Stealing Fire is a fantastic book about the future of humanity and everything that we can become. Based on incredible stories and cutting edge data, it reveals how our brain and body can be optimized to its greatest potential.
Financial Times
A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D.
The New York Times
Reading Stealing Fire, Mr. Lang-Willar said, he became convinced that nothing less than a ‘cultural awakening’ was underway.
Jason Silva
The North Star we’ve been waiting forfinally a distillation of the upper reaches of the human experience unveiled! I am so excited for this book to reach the world!
The New York Times
Reading Stealing Fire, Mr. Lang-Willar said, he became convinced that nothing less than a ‘cultural awakening’ was underway.
Financial Times
A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D.
Tim Ferriss
Steven and Jamie have done a wonderful job of balancing the promises, perils, and how-to prescriptions of engineering peak states such as ‘flow.’
Library Journal
02/15/2017
Kotler (cofounder & director of research, Flow Genome Project; The Rise of Superman) and Wheal, an expert on peak performance and leadership, have written a book on altered mental states and the effects thereof. Their introductory premise comes from a party organized by Alcibiades, an ancient Greek general and politician who provided his guests a mind-altering drink that terrified them at first then altered their consciousness. The authors relate to the uses of controlled substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, LSD, and legal practices such as meditation, yoga, or sexual activity to obtain these states of mind. Activities that provide highs, such as mountain climbing, Navy SEAL achievements, and some Silicon Valley practices, are used as examples of behaviors that can substantially add to our lives and productivity. The state of "ecstasis," the abilities of the brain to extend consciousness to new areas, is the goal here, and several methods are explored to achieve or sustain it. The authors provide a great deal of substantive documentation to support their premises. VERDICT This well-written, well-documented, and significant work is also controversial. Yet, all readers can find value in its contents. [See Prepub Alert, 8/26/16.]—Littleton Maxwell, Robins Sch. of Business, Univ. of Richmond