Seattle has a long tradition of being at the forefront of technological innovation. In 1919, a mysterious young inventor named Alfred M. Hubbard made his first newspaper appearance with the announcement of a perpetual motion machine that harnessed energy from Earth's atmosphere. From there, Hubbard transformed himself into a charlatan, bootlegger, radio pioneer, top-secret spy, millionaire and uranium entrepreneur. In the early 1950s, after discovering the transformative effects of a little-known hallucinogenic compound, Hubbard would go on to become the "Johnny Appleseed of LSD," paving the way for the very first generation of psychedelic disciples and beyond. Join author and historian Brad Holden as he chronicles the life of one of the most fascinating figures to emerge from Seattle's past. "This is a captivating history of one of America's most colorful characters - Al Hubbard. Holden dives into the larger than life history of a man whose past intersects with rum running, spy rings, police informants, and psychedelics. Brilliantly told, Holden brings Hubbard's enigmatic character to life." -Erika Dyck Ph.D, Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and author of Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus. "An engaging biography about the mysterious Al Hubbard, who helped pioneer psychedelic therapy and is credited by Stan Grof with developing the model of the high dose inner-directed session to catalyze a mystical experience." -Rick Doblin Ph.D., founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) "This is the remarkable story of Captain Al Hubbard-- inventor, con man, secret agent, uranium entrepreneur, and indefatigable LSD apostle, who saw the light while high on psychedelics in the early 1950s and never looked back." - Martin A. Lee, author of Acid Dreams -- The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond "When Brad Holden first stumbled on 'Captain' Al Hubbard a few years ago, he found a crafty, Seattle rum-runner who'd achieved national celebrity during Prohibition. But Holden soon discovered that Hubbard's second act--as one of the key, hidden figures behind the psychedelic revolution of the 1960's--would prove even more extraordinary. In this groundbreaking attempt to peel back the many layers of myth and mystery that surround Hubbard's early life as a boy genius, bootlegger and spy, Holden lays out the epic life of a uniquely American character, a trickster who danced across the national stage for almost a half century. Holden, a dogged archaeologist of urban artifact and lore, performs an invaluable service by pulling together this compellingly readable introduction to 'The Captain'--a man whose late-in-life dream to change the world with psychedelics is still reverberating through the culture today." -Ken Dornstein, Emmy-winning producer of The Grateful Dead documentary, Long Strange Trip, and author of The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky: A True Story. "Through the wildly fascinating legend of Al Hubbard, Holden details a huckster, dreamer and iconoclast who prototyped the next generation of eccentric Seattle tech entrepreneur and lifestyle guru. But Holden is getting at so much more here: a place, a time, a mentality that has gotten us to where we are today." -Thomas Kohnstamm, author of Lake City Brad Holden is an author, historian and finder of old things. When not searching for local historical artifacts, he enjoys writing about Seattle's past. His work has appeared in Pacific Northwest Magazine , and he is a contributor for historylink.org. Holden has been profiled in Seattle Magazine , Seattle Refined and various newspapers. His previous book, Seattle Prohibition: Bootleggers, Rumrunners & Graft in the Queen City , was released to much critical acclaim in 2019. He lives in Edmonds, Washington.