| International Standard Book Number |
9781778404177 (hardcover)
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| International Standard Book Number |
1778404170 (hardcover)
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| Personal Name |
Chapman, Kit (Science journalist), author.
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| Title Statement |
The age of alchemy : the secret history of chemistry from ancient magic to modern science / Kit Chapman.
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| Production, Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, and Copyright Notice |
Vancouver : Greystone Books, 2026.
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| Physical Description |
xii, 308 pages ; 24 cm..
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| Bibliography, Etc. Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-292) and index.
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| Formatted Contents Note |
Prologue -- Ancient wisdom. Fire emblems ; Full metal alchemists ; Paints and perfumes ; The city of fake gold ; From the ashes -- Immortality and gold. Flamethrowers and acid baths ; Elixirs of life ; The emperor's immortal groove ; The riddle of steel ; Made in America ; Faith and fraud -- The birth of chemistry. Mad, bad and dangerous to know ; Of popes and poisons ; Secrets and lies ; The man with the golden urine ; Hidden fire ; Death of a chemist -- Epilogue.
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| Summary, Etc. |
"3,000 years ago, on the banks of the Tigris in what is now known as Iraq, a woman perfumer named Tapputi mastered the control of temperature and the arts of distillation, calcination, condensation, filtering, purification, fixation, and sublimation, unknowingly staking her claim as the first chemist in history. From Egyptian tombs and the dazzling workshops of Alexandria to Chinese emperors seeking immortality, The Age of Alchemy uncovers the hidden roots of alchemy and its transformation into chemistry. Kit Chapman brings to life forgotten innovators -- women alchemists, artisan experimenters, and ingenious fraudsters -- while challenging Eurocentric myths and celebrating the diverse cultures that forged our understanding of matter. Blending vivid storytelling, forgotten history, and fascinating science, the book explores the meaning and impact of chemical knowledge -- its power to heal, to harm, and to transform societies. It explores how alchemists inspired modern medicine, how the search for immortality led to both lethal elixirs and life-saving antimalarials, how pigments and alloys reshaped economies and empires, and how the old dream of transmuting metals was finally realized in nuclear physics. The Age of Alchemy invites readers to see chemistry not as a dry catalogue of formulas, but as a four-thousand-year human drama of curiosity, ambition, ingenuity, and resilience -- a global story of how we learned to understand and manipulate the material world."-- Provided by publisher.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Chemistry History.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Alchemy.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Chemists History.
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