The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a 1968 nonfiction book by Tom Wolfe[2] written in the New Journalism literary style.

The book presents a firsthand account of the experiences of Ken Kesey and a group of psychedelic enthusiasts, known as the Merry Pranksters, who traveled across the United States in a colorfully-painted school bus they called Furthur.

[4] The book chronicles the Acid Tests (parties with LSD-laced Kool-Aid) and encounters with notable figures of the time (Hells Angels, Grateful Dead, Allen Ginsberg), and describes Kesey's exile to Mexico and his arrests.

Kesey gathers a group of followers based on the allure of transcendence achievable through drugs, as well as his ability to preach and captivate listeners.

The "Acid Tests" — parties centered around LSD-laced Kool-Aid and carried out with lights and noise intended to enhance the psychedelic experience — started at Kesey's house in the woods of La Honda, California.

Kesey is conditionally released as he convinces the judge that the next step of his movement is an "Acid Test Graduation," an event in which the Pranksters and other followers will attempt to achieve intersubjectivity without the use of mind-altering drugs.

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test has been described as faithful and "essential" in depicting the roots and growth of the hippie movement.

Wolfe's descriptions and accounts of the adventures of Kesey and his cohort were influential on the cultural perception of the figures and events in the book.

The book received modest literary acclaim, in particular for the clear narrative Wolfe maintained amidst the indulgent and often intoxicated milieu depicted.

[6] Wolfe chronicles the Pranksters' day-to-day lives and numerous psychedelic experiences and his abstinence usefully differentiates his point of view.

[9] As proponents of fiction and orthodox nonfiction continued to question the validity of New Journalism, Wolfe stood by the growing discipline.

Wolfe thought that this method of writing transformed the subjects of newspapers and articles into people with whom audiences could relate and sympathize.

The review notes that while Kesey received acclaim for his literary effort One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, he was, for the most part, not a visible icon.

Entrepreneur Alfred Roven purchased the film rights shortly after the book was published, passing them to his children before his death, who entrusted them to Richard N. Gladstein after they were introduced to him by their attorney.

Gladstein hired Gus Van Sant (who had dedicated his 2002 film Gerry to Kesey) to direct, and then Dustin Lance Black to screenwrite.