Review by Choice Review
Principe (Johns Hopkins) is a professor of chemistry and the history of science, and the highly regarded author of previous books on science history and on alchemists (e.g., The Scientific Revolution, CH, Feb'12, 49-3236; The Aspiring Adept, CH, Dec'98, 36-2153; coauthor with W. Newman, Alchemy Tried in the Fire, CH, May'03, 40-5201). This new volume is both a scholarly and a lively successor to such valuable earlier works as E. J. Holmyard's Alchemy (1957) and F. Sherwood Taylor's The Alchemists (1949). In the more than half century since these earlier books appeared, many new scholarly works have been published that study original alchemical texts, some by Principe himself, and this new book incorporates the new views of alchemy that have developed. For those who want to read an absorbing short history of alchemy, Principe's book is the text of choice. It corrects many errors of interpretation in earlier books and brings modern scholarship to bear on this fascinating field that was one ancestor of modern chemistry. Fully illustrated; extensive notes, comprehensive bibliography, complete index. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. H. Goldwhite emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Alchemy evokes images of medieval laboratories in which practitioners (considered something between scientist and sorcerer) mix esoteric concoctions to create substances that nature never intended. Of that imagined scene, the part that is probably closest to reality is the secrecy that characterized alchemical practices. Alchemists were fiercely protective of what amounted to their "trade secrets." Thus, Principe (history of science & technology, Johns Hopkins Univ.; The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and His Alchemical Quest) combed through many cryptic treatises in order to present this survey of the history of alchemical thought and practice from the Greeks until the advent of modern science, including the lengthy Islamic period. The book's greatest accomplishment is its depiction of the values and assumptions that formed the alchemical worldview, and how they preceded, coexisted with, and led to a structured scientific methodology. In the sections most entertaining for general readers, Principe recreates various alchemical recipes. VERDICT As a clear elucidation of a fascinating but, by its nature, obscure topic, this book will appeal to those interested in the history of science.-Gregg Sapp, Olympia WA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
