Book Description Review “Captures the incredibly rich artistic tradition of alchemy.” Read more About the Author Alexander Roob studied painting at the University of Fine Arts, Berlin. From 2000 to 2002, he was a professor at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. He has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart since 2002. Read more Customers Review: The pictures are of great quality and the writing is superb, but the book binding is terrible. First, as you open the pages (mostly on the black pages) you will hear a tearing sound. This is the pages tearing from the sewing and glue. You will notice holes from the bottom of the page to the top where the pages meet the spine. Second, the bookmark ribbon is textured and leaves a nasty imprint on the pages. It would have been better if they had not sewn the ribbon in to begin with.As a book collector, I am less than impressed. If I had the money to get the Easton Press edition, I would. In the meantime, this one is going back. Taschen, you could do better.Best,Bruce
Compared to the 2001 edition, this version (2018) is missing MANY pages. Many illustrations have been omitted. Why?? It didn’t really make the book that much smaller. I’ve never seen an edition that was actually LESS comprehensive than the original.But worst of all, the quality of illustrations is considerably worse. Some pen & ink drawings, especially, look like a bad copy of a copy. Very disappointing.
This book is wonderfully put together, and while the information could be a bit hard to digest for some, I think it be really useful as a resource for writing.The book covers a lot more of the philosophy of alchemy than the actual methods if I remember correctly, but that’s perfect for what I got the book for, which was so I could slip little alchemic references into my writing.
An excellent book about Alchemy and Mysticism, maybe the best…
Very nice book, wish it were bigger though.
I spent a long time trying to figure out which version of this book (short, medium, or full version, basically) I would get. There has been a lot of confusion in these reviews, what with Amazon combining reviews for specific versions together and people leaving their review for the wrong version, and some of the versions being removed from Amazon, creating one jumbled commentary. Here are the two main versions I found:Version 1) FULL VERSIONPaperback: 712 pages $165.00 new $45.00 usedPublisher: Taschen (May 1, 1997)Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 2.1 inchesVersion 2) SHORTENED VERSIONPaperback: 575 pages $12.37 newPublisher: Taschen; 25th edition (August 2, 2006)Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.6 x 1.8 inchesI decided to go all out and get the full version, but at the used price. I have to say I was a bit disappointed, while the book is packed with fascinating information and images, I never thought to look at the size dimensions of this mammoth 712 page book before buying: 8 inches long! Basically just an inch or two larger than my hand’s length. Think: the size of a guide book. I was so looking forward to this book largely for the artwork it has, which shows fine lines and details. But alas, most of the images aren’t full page but half-page size, so imagine how small they actually are in a 8×6 inch book! Honestly, I felt the book, for my purposes, was not worth the $45.00 USED price. I was picturing a large coffee table sized book where I could pour over the artwork, rather than something of a pocketguide. Knowing how small the artwork and text is, I wish I would have only spent $12.37 and sacrificed the 200 pages for the sake of my wallet.I would recommend getting one of the two versions to anyone fascinated by spiritualism, symbology, archetypes, art from 1300s-1600s, and myth/folklore/magic.
Most modern people look back at alchemy with a sense of pity – those poor pseudo-scientists trying to bake gold and brew the elixir of life – but there must have been something to it, judging by the magnificent art is produced. This book is an art collection rather than an alchemical text, but it provides a wealth of information about the history and philosophy behind this unique body of art.
There is so much info in this book. Many illustrations as well |
184 reviews