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The Philosopher's Stone: A Quest for the Secrets of Alchemy

Author: Peter Marshall
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

5 reviews
Sales Rank: 227241

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 545
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.9 x 1.6

ISBN: 0330489100
Dewey Decimal Number: 210
EAN: 9780330489102
ASIN: 0330489100

Publication Date: February 8, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book dispatched from stock in the UK

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - The Philosopher's Stone: A Quest for the Secret of Alchemy
•	Hardcover - The Philosopher's Stone: A Quest for the Secrets of Alchemy

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Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars

load of old retrograde ching October 23, 2007
it reads like a travelogue of a crusty academic, who wanting to travel around the world manages to get a book commission about alchemy. He probably wrote this after reading Harry Potter. I was interested in what he was saying until he mentions retrograde ejaculations (making the "ching" return), and quite honestly I then lost interest. IF you are interested in alchemy from a Western perspective then read The Zelator.

3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining but not academic February 18, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have decided to rate this book a three and not a two simply because it was an entertaining and easy read. Those readers looking for an easy initiation into the world of alchemy, will find this book quite pleasant. That aside, I find the book highly subjective and poorely researched in certain areas. Yes, it is a personal journey of one author, and yes, it probably doesn't claim to be an exemplar of academic scrutiny, but I did find some of the positions to be highly slanted. I must admit, though, that it is quite fun, for the duration of the read, to imagine with the author a world of old where such ideas are not merely assumed but accepted.

In summary: This book is not for everyone. Some will find it fun, others might find it informative. Serious academics of alchemy may wish to treat it with a pinch of salt.

4 out of 5 stars

An Excellent View Of One Man's Search For The Truth of Alchemy October 10, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

The story of one man's search for the Philosopher's Stone might sound like a dry read, but Peter Marshall makes entertaining reading of his own search through the highways and byways of alchemy from it's earliest beginnings until the present day. Not only entertaining, but enlightening in places too. What Peter has done saves others with a tyros interest in alchemy having to do the same, and in this regard he will save much precious time. The general reader will find the book a truly interesting read, but for the would be alchemist who doesn't know where to start, this book would make an excellent beginning to serious study of alchemy. To those who may think alchemy is no more than a fable which gave rise to modern chemistry, then a reading of this book might help to correct your view. There is more to alchemy than many of us think, and this is a good book to read to understand why.

2 out of 5 stars

Too one sided February 13, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

It's ok if you can distance yourself from the author's suspension of disbelief. I love reading about alchemy, hermetics and other occult traditions and Frances Yate's sympathetic but objective accounts have been a delight. This book had some interesting points, but much of it felt rushed, credulous and at time downright irritating when he glazed over murky pieces of research or presented ambiguous information or hearsay as fact.

Best approached as a romp of a novel merging fiction with fact than a genuine piece of researched history.

5 out of 5 stars A true story, and a tale of all times and all cities... June 3, 2001
26 out of 30 found this review helpful

I totally enjoyed Marshall's book. Well-read, but also highly individual, this books captures your imagination from the very first page. The search for the Philosopher's stone is imaginatively set against the background of the mysterious exoteric buildings connected with it, from the Alhambra to the Pyramids to Prague's Castle. The true story of Marshall's studies and obsession with alchemy, it shows that the search for the stone was not merely the dream of some medieval weirdo in a non-scientific age, but a constant of all civilisations, from the Chinese to Hindus to the Arabs and the Europeans, and as such a response to a basic human need. After a few pages, you discover that the practical search for turning stone into gold was paired by an exoteric search for the ultimate meaning of life, and distilling your being's ultimate essence. Fascinating! A documentary you can read like a novel, and which even feels like a quest. You'll soon realise that the author not only documents his fascination with and search for the stone, but make the reader starts his own exoteric quest too. Some sections are great prompts to meditation, others just make you want book a flight ticket and jet off! If you liked Indiana Jones, The Alchemist, Tai Chi, Buddhism, J.L. Borges, travel stories, or all of them, then in different ways this is a book for you.