ekfmef's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Somehow the author managed to create a Very boring book about a super interesting subject. The book would have been way more exciting if it shed some light on the world the early alchemists lived in. Where did they get their supplies? What other cool things did they invent? And then not just describing 'coincidentally they also found x' but going into more detail.
Main takeaways:
- the whole Alchemy as a spiritual dimension is a 19th century invention, but Alchemy and religion were closely intertwined as science and religion were too.
- the expression 'hermetically closed' refers to the last step of alchemy where the material is enclosed in a glass flask
- the alchemists did really cool actual chemical things but it's not easy to dechiper. That last part would have been lovely to read more about!
Main takeaways:
- the whole Alchemy as a spiritual dimension is a 19th century invention, but Alchemy and religion were closely intertwined as science and religion were too.
- the expression 'hermetically closed' refers to the last step of alchemy where the material is enclosed in a glass flask
- the alchemists did really cool actual chemical things but it's not easy to dechiper. That last part would have been lovely to read more about!
hrjones's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been whining about “where were all these books on alchemy last year when I was doing the primary research for The Mystic Marriage? In this case, the answer is “not published yet”. There does seem to be a nebulous “interest in alchemy” front passing through, which I can only hope will be positive for the reception of my novel. This is exactly the sort of readable but solidly historical general history of the field that I was searching for. (The best I could find last year was a bit too invested in the mystical aspects for true objectivity.) This goes on my “actually read it through” list.
slferg's review against another edition
5.0
Informative read on alchemy which covers not just the philosopher's stone, but also the medicines that began to be made about the same time. Also about the rise and fall of belief and trust in alchemy and the secrets supposedly hidden in it. Since there was no standardization of ingredients and what some experimenters called an ingredient was not what others called that one, it sounds rather slapdash, but was indeed carefully researched by the individual. The author himself has had some of the results described in the old alchemy books, by repeated experiment and long effort because there were no thermometers then to record the heat used. This was a problem along with the non-standardization of ingredients. The author does not claim to have made a philosopher's stone, in fact, he has barely poked a toe in that treacherous water, but he does seem to have created the first steps described by one or two of the alchemists. In fact, the results one of them describes were results from the impurity inherent in the materials used. Because of their faulty materials and primitive (by today's standards) tools, they achieved results they could not have done with pure ingredients.
The penalties and pains of this kind of work was a discouragement in itself, and chemistry - in spite of itself - is rather an offshoot of it. Much of the controversy and actors in it is discussed with the different medieval attitudes to life. Also, there are quite a few illustrations that are illuminating.
There is a chapter or two that looks at the early modern attitude to 'alchymy' where it is equated with religion - and there was a whole group that grew up that held the writing on alchemy was only intended to reveal religious secrets and had nothing to do with it's supposed purpose.
The penalties and pains of this kind of work was a discouragement in itself, and chemistry - in spite of itself - is rather an offshoot of it. Much of the controversy and actors in it is discussed with the different medieval attitudes to life. Also, there are quite a few illustrations that are illuminating.
There is a chapter or two that looks at the early modern attitude to 'alchymy' where it is equated with religion - and there was a whole group that grew up that held the writing on alchemy was only intended to reveal religious secrets and had nothing to do with it's supposed purpose.
rrwright's review
5.0
Delightful! Exactly what I hoped for.
This book is exactly what I was hoping for: a casually readable but serious investigation of the history of alchemy, explanation of their arcane language, chemical foundations, and especially a telescope onto the mind of proto-scientific mankind. The book is very well written and easily readable, but so delightfully informative. The author’s own experiments with centuries-old alchemical recipes was the icing on the cake—to understand the old methods with 21st century science and cinch a complete understanding of what they claimed to be doing vs. what was actually occurring. This is one of the most satisfying books I’ve read on any topic in years. Thank you!
This book is exactly what I was hoping for: a casually readable but serious investigation of the history of alchemy, explanation of their arcane language, chemical foundations, and especially a telescope onto the mind of proto-scientific mankind. The book is very well written and easily readable, but so delightfully informative. The author’s own experiments with centuries-old alchemical recipes was the icing on the cake—to understand the old methods with 21st century science and cinch a complete understanding of what they claimed to be doing vs. what was actually occurring. This is one of the most satisfying books I’ve read on any topic in years. Thank you!
yarnam01's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting read providing a scholarly overview of the history of alchemy and its relationship to modern day chemistry. In some of the most interesting parts of the book the author attempts to recreate alchemical experiments in order to understand their reported observations.
ashcomb's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up this book as research for my upcoming novel where my antagonist is an alchemist. This was just perfect for it. The book goes over the history of alchemy, the major alchemist (their thoughts and life and work), and the principles of alchemy, and of course, it discusses the quest for Philosopher's Stone. This book gives you a good general picture of alchemy. Its emphasis is on that alchemy was a genuine scientific discipline, and it advanced our understanding of metals, minerals, and chemical processes. But it is true that the "noble art" was cloaked with mystery as the alchemist used verbose language, symbolism, and allegories to hide their recipes. This is maybe the reason why alchemy has gained an esoteric and spiritual reputation. More so after chemistry took over and the likely hood of finding the recipe for Philosopher's Stone diminished.
The book was interesting to read. At times, it was a chore as there were so many facts, names, and minerals fitted into a small paragraph, and I wanted to remember and note them all, but it is understandable if you need to cram all know history in 281 pages (excluded Asia as according to the writer that differs a lot from western alchemy.) When I read this book, I was amazed at how rich the symbolism of alchemy was. How it has influenced art and poetry, and the other way around. How mercury and sulfur were portrayed as woman and man and their union hid behind alchemist recipes. Also, I found it amazing that the writer himself had tried out the Philosopher's Stones recipes and wrote what went wrong and what worked with them and why. Amazingly the key to getting the ancient recipes working was impurity and iron tools. The writer's passion and knowledge for the subject jumped out of the pages and made it easier to trust his writing.
I think this is a perfect summary of western alchemy and perfect for those who want to know more what the true art was all about.
The book was interesting to read. At times, it was a chore as there were so many facts, names, and minerals fitted into a small paragraph, and I wanted to remember and note them all, but it is understandable if you need to cram all know history in 281 pages (excluded Asia as according to the writer that differs a lot from western alchemy.) When I read this book, I was amazed at how rich the symbolism of alchemy was. How it has influenced art and poetry, and the other way around. How mercury and sulfur were portrayed as woman and man and their union hid behind alchemist recipes. Also, I found it amazing that the writer himself had tried out the Philosopher's Stones recipes and wrote what went wrong and what worked with them and why. Amazingly the key to getting the ancient recipes working was impurity and iron tools. The writer's passion and knowledge for the subject jumped out of the pages and made it easier to trust his writing.
I think this is a perfect summary of western alchemy and perfect for those who want to know more what the true art was all about.
tikitu's review against another edition
Textual history is freaking complicated... From pg 31: "The exact origin of the /[Emerald] Tablet/ remains obscure. Most evidence indicates that it was written centuries after the bulk of the philosophical or technical /Hermetica/, and that it is an original Arabic composition dating from the eighth century. No Greek precursor or any earlier Greek citations of it have been located despite exhaustive searches. It first appeared appended to a work which itself has complex and obscure origins, the /Book of the Secret of Creation/ (/Kitāb sirr al-khalīqa/) by one “Balīnūs,” an early ninth-century author writing in Arabic under the name of the much earlier Greek author Apollonios of Tyana. Balīnūs's work is itself a pastiche; newer materials are combined with an earlier Syriac text by a priest names Sajiyus of Nablus, which itself incorporates yet older Greek material. How exactly the /Tablet/ fits into this muddle remains unclear. Nevertheless, it seems safe enough to doubt the veracity of the account told in the /Book of the Secret of Creation/ that the text was discovered, written in Syriac on a tablet of green stone, clenched in the hands of an ancient corpse buried in a subterranean sepulcher hidden beneath a statue of Hermes Trismegistus."