The Book of Alchemy
Francis Melville
Barron's
Nonfiction, History/Magic
***
DESCRIPTION: Alchemy. The word brings to mind medieval con-men and deluded fools, tinkering in pseudoscientific labs to produce impractical, useless curatives, perhaps even seeking the legendary Philosopher's Stone which will transmute base metals into pure gold. But what is alchemy, really? The author describes it as a union of classical philosophy and the physical world, the birthplace of modern science and a field of study which is still, despite centuries of misinformation and digrace, alive today. The history, principles, and applications are explained, along with instructions for basic alchemical recipes.
REVIEW: Another bargain book, purchased for research purposes for my as-yet-fruitless fantasy writing aspirations. My first, and perhaps biggest, objection to this book was that it was difficult to read. I don't just mean Melville's writing, though that got rather tangled in metaphors at times. I mean it was physically difficult to read the print on the pages, which were intended to resemble rough paper; the "shadows" of the "texture" made it very hard to read the last several lines of print on each page. Many alchemical formulas and books relied heavily on symbolism and coding in both text and pictures. Melville reprints several of these illustrations (most from unnamed sources), but does little to clarify the symbolism involved; a caption just isn't enough to do the trick. He does offer a decent, if somewhat vague, overview of alchemy's history and some famous alchemists, and he does, as promised, describe the fundamental principles of alchemy along with instructions for producing purified tinctures of planetary essences, should one wish to do so. Since I haven't the time, materials, or inclination to test them, let alone figure out what they are supposed to actually do if one does make and consume them as directed, I cannot speak for their usefulness, though in this day and age of rampant pesticide use and contamination I'd be a lot more careful than he is about harvesting any plant from the wild. As for the book itself, if you want an idea of what alchemy is all about, and if you find it, like I did, in the discount section of the bookstore, you might page through it.
You might also enjoy:
The Learned Art of Witches & Wizards (Anton and Mina Adams, Nonfiction - The history and practice of witchcraft and wizardry)
The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Spells & Magic (The Diagram Group, Nonfiction - An overview of magic traditions)
Merlin's Book of Magic and Enchantment (Nevill Drury, Fiction - The wizard Merlin discusses magickal theory)
The Giant Book of Magic (Cassandra Eason, Nonfiction - World magical practices and their use today)
The Complete Book of Amulets and Talismans (Migene González-Wippler, Nonfiction - Creating magickal objects)
Eyewitness Books: Witches and Magic Makers (Douglas Hill, YA Nonfiction - A visual reference of magicians and their tools from around the world)
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