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Article: Alchemy Tried in the Fire: Starkey, Boyle, and the Fate of Helmontian Chymistry.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Albion
- Article date:
- March 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 North American Conference on British Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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William R. Newman and Lawrence M. Principe. Alchemy Tried in the Fire: Starkey, Boyle, and the Fate of Helmontian Chymistry. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 2002. Pp. xv, 344. $40.00. ISBN 0-226-57711-2.
One of the most exciting current intellectual projects in the historiography of early modern science is the reevaluation of alchemy. From a remote adept whose concern with chemical transformations focused on making gold and was often basically magical and/or spiritual rather than "scientific," the alchemist has been transformed into a busy lab technician, whose concerns extended to many chemical processes other than gold-making and whose methods ...