Art History Books

I ENJOYED THIS BOOK VERY MUCH AND THE AUTHOR FOUND SOME NEAT SILENT FILM PERSONALITIES TO TALK WITH. GOOD INSIGHT INTO WHAT THOSE EARLY YEARS WERE LIKE BUT FOR WHAT I PAID FOR IT I FEEL THE BOOK SHOULD AT LEAST BE RELEASED IN HARDCOVER. STILL, IT WAS ENJOYABLE.

I have been a cinema fan quite while, silent films more recently as I research. Finally, I see a book on the market where the author actually sought out former stars and interviewed them!
We get a sense of their personalities and the whole era through this book;
I recently bought SILENT PLAYERS, thinking it a similiar book but many of the subjects were dead before the author wrote it and those who are quoted have little or nothing to say. The chapters are one page at most.
I hope for more good reading. It is sad now but I imagine all the silent players are gone. Are there any still alive? If so, who are they and have they been interviewed?
Another good read is the new bio of Valentino. He must have been quite the loverboy!

Mr. Villecco interviews 12 former silent film players and a director Andrew Stone. We learn about the early scandals and first Academy Awards and early working conditions. It is fascinating. These pioneers really worked, often under undesirable conditions. As far as sex, drugs and rock and roll, the 1920's were no different. Read the chapters on Baby Peggy, Anita Page and Pauline Curley! It's also amazing that Villecco was able to even locate living silent stars. Are there any left?
I rate this book 5 stars-the photos and filmogs are also wonderful.

"Silent Stars Speak" is a superb book! This is a treasure chest of information about Hollywood's roots. Tony Villeco's interviews with the 12 stars are facinating. He's done a marvelous job, giving us a glimpse into the past. Since many of these stars have now passed on, he's captured wonderful memories and a bit of history as well. It was a joy to read, as well as informative and insightful. The book is full of beautiful, vintage pictures that truly take the reader back to the magical era of silent films. Tony Villeco has created a work of art, in this wonderful book. One can only hope to read more from him future! Bravo!

Tony Villecco writes articles on silent and sound films for CLASSIC IMAGES magazine and he has assembled twelve of his articles for this book. Subjects range from clild actors Baby Peggy Montgomery and Jean Darling to major stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and even a director, Andrew Stone. The book has very detailed filmographies of each person profiled, except for director Stone. This book is a fast read, and it would be a great introduction to someone who is new to silent films. Many of the people profiled in the book had long careers in sound films also. The best parts of the book are when he interviews some little know people like director Stone, actress Pauline Curley, and actress Priscilla Bonner and they actually talk about their careers and filmmaking. Sometimes the subjects just give us a list of the many people that they worked with and don't give us much detail about their experiences. In fairness to the author, his subjects were all very old at the time and may not have been able to remember that many details. If you are really interested in interviews with silent film stars, Kevin Brownlow's THE PARADE'S GONE BY and William Drew's AT THE CENTER OF THE FRAME are much better. Baby Peggy's story is told much better in hour autobiography, HOLLYWOOD' CHILDREN.

Guy Windsor teaches at the fencing school he founded in Helsinki, Finland (School of European Swordsmanship). In this manual, he introduces us to the two-handed longsword, one of the primary close-quarter weapons of the Middle-ages and Renaissance, a weapon highly prevalent in many ancient European martial texts.

Mr. Windsor's text explains the history of this particular sword, with commentary on the philosophies of Italian fencing-masters who wrote some of the most influential early fighting-manuals. Inside, you will recieve instruction in drills of footwork, armed-practice (alone and with a training partner), principles of fencing, and warm-up for sword-practice.

Thoroughly illustrated with black & white photos, as well as historical line-drawings from the original Medieval manuals, you will find this to be a true gem among the new wave of Eurocentric martial-arts books.

Also to be recommended: Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer, translated by Mark Rector

This is an excellent book. The demonstrations of the techniques are clear, and easy to understand. Guy Windsor intended for this to be a workbook for the Historical Western Swordsman, and this is. He does an excellent job at conveying the subtlety of the Italian longsword tradition. I look forward to other works by Windsor on the Longsword and other weapons used on the battlefields of medieval Europe.

The broadsword in s good place to start for anyone interested in learning Historic Swordsmanship. This book is well written for those who want to learn the basics. I personally found many new drills and new ways to teach my students.
Personally I have been in the martial arts for over 20 years and have been doing Western Martial Arts for about 8 and I really liked this book. It is always good to return to the basics and make sure they are solid.
I would recomend this book to anyone who is starting or thinking about getting into Historic Swordsmanship, also and well equiped sword library should have this book.

Although I read this a few years ago, it remains for me the best book on the subject of swordplay that I've ever picked up. Although I may disagree with some of his interpretations (and that may simply be the result of his models handling blades too long to accurately demonstrate some of Fiore's guards), his decriptions of the fundamental principles of swordfighting are both elegant and insightful. This book was a pivotal experience in the evolution of my understanding of medieval swordplay.

When I saw this book advertised on Amazon, I said to myself...oh no!!! not another one of those books written by these whackos who think they can swordfight, just because they played with metal bars in their backyard !!!! Then as I looked through it I said .....Finalmente ....Finally....a well researched book written by an intelligent man who has studied the period manuals and presented his theory on the subject!! What is great about Guy Windsor is that even on his discussion forum he admits that he is learning everyday, and that he feels no shame in changing something that he might be wrong on. Great book written by a great author !!! If you want to learn to fight with the Longsword by this book !!!!!!

This is a great book. Endlessly fun and insightful and funny. Poe's adventuresome spirit sweeps-up the reader and delivers us to places we may probably never go. He dares to visit the shadow of America as well, and delivers to us the jewels of characters hidden therein. The experiences through which they all live are painted here in vivid, full spectrum color. I would buy and/or read anything this guy writes.

I am not very good at writing reviews, but just wanted to say this is a great book which deserves reading!!!

Whether one believes this work of Poe Ballentine's is fact or fiction, what he says is deeply rooted in truth. He tells the stories of the "little people" and gives the peons and the nameless faceless grunts of this country a voice. He paints a gallery of portraits that reflects the real day to day struggle of a vast majority of people in this country, who live minute by minute because that is as much of a future as they dare to expect. Sort of like a modern day Woody Gutherie, rather than ride the rails, he rode Greyhound and brought back the kinds of stories Woody would have sung. When I finished the last page of the book, I imagined that this must have been the way his friends made along the way must have felt when they saw him board that bus and leave them behind. They were hopeful he would find something better, sad that it all had to end.

I became a fan of Poe Ballantine through reading his articles in The Sun magazine. This collection of short stories is just great. They are all autobiographical stories about his stays in different areas of the US and Mexico. The editorial, or maybe confessional, "twist" he puts on each experience is what makes the narrative so interesting.

If life were a greyhound bus, you would find Poe Ballantine out on the front bumper, experiencing it sooner and more intensely than the rest of us. This book is a collection of dispatches from the road, and what they have to tell us is edifying, entertaining, terrifying, and reassuring, as well as utterly authentic. Some readers have likened Ballantine to Charles Bukowski, and certain common themes suggest the comparison, but Ballantine's sympathy, wry understanding, and cheerless optimism have more in common with the themes of Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams.

As other reviewers have said, this book is fascinating in depth and breadth and extremely well-written. The book recreates the mood and times of Havana, Cuba, and often of the US across several decades. The author exhibits tremendous balance in spite of the author's genuine affection for many of the primary players in the central drama.

This is a great book written by two outstanding ladies who are the experts on the subject matter. First Rosa Lowinger did an outstanding job with her research, and Ofelia Fox Fox (widow of Martin Fox, former owner of Tropicana Night Club) with all the details that she provided. I believe that every Cuban should be very proud of these two ladies, who invested so much time to make this book, and did an excellent job too, about their Country, and the Havana night clubs. The Tropicana ranks above them all. In this book the reader will know how the night club was made, and all the people involved in making it happen. And credit must be given to Martin Fox former owner of the club. It became his obsession in making his dream come true; although I reside in Morocco I can only imagine what Cuba was like in those days. I left my country at the age of eight, and never had the chance to go near the Tropicana, I always remember the stories of the great experience it was to visit the club. Some people would associate the club with the Mafia, and corruption. Well, if the club had any connection with the Jewish and Italian Mafia, they were better off than what the current backward government has to offer today. Corruption exists everywhere in the world, and Cuba was booming with with success in those days. After all, the Jews and Italians owned most of the Hotels and other casinos in Havana, they also invested great amount of money to assist the Cuban people in making Cuba the best tourist attraction in the world! General Batista was the best president that Cuba had. In those days you did not have the poverty that you find today in the Island. We Cubans are proud of our culture and are happy people, we like the best that life has to offer.This book is a must for all the Cubans and other nationalities who do not know how Cuba was; Cuba was known as the Pearl of the Antilles. The book is also very educative, for those who want to improve their knowledge and overcome their ignorance, for example, Ofelia Fox explains the true meaning of the word guajiro, "When Roosevelt's men came to fight in our war of Independence, and they began calling the Mambises `war heroes'. Well, you can imagine that no Cuban could pronounce that, so it simply became guajiro."Excerpt from the book: Tropicana Nights, The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Night Club, Chapter 17, Cabaret in the Sky, page: 269.by Rosa Lowinger & Ofelia. Buy it!

Tropicana Nights brings to life the second most famous nightclub of the 20th century, and the events of the Castro revolution. Rosa Lowinger weaves into the story just enough personal history to give context to all the larger events. Details are included when they are relevant to the story told, but the story is allowed to move along quickly, and this book is entertaining and illuminating. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get an idea of what pre-revolutionary Havana was like, whether or not they are interested in nightclubs. My parents, who often went to Tropicana, said that the book tells it like it was. The book also includes wonderful vintage photos.

Tropicana Nights gives the reader a sense of what life was like in Havana during the 1940s and 1950s. The Tropicana nightclub embodied the creativity and glamour of that era.

Tropicana still exists in Havana today. In the 1940s and 50s, it was a nightclub, cabaret and casino. It hosted performers such as Nat "King" Cole, Ginger Rogers and Liberace. Its audience was composed of the rich and famous, politicians and people wanting a special night out. Tropicana consistently met and raised people's expectations. The shows were legendary due to the imaginative choreography, live animals and beautiful Tropicana models.

This book is a collaboration of two women who are brought together to tell Tropicana's story. Ofelia Fox is the widow of Martin Fox who owned the Tropicana from 1950-1962. Rosa Lowinger was born in Havana but raised in Miami. As they work together on the book, some issues are raised.

Rosa and Ofelia have different views on Cuban politics. Ofelia claims that both Batista and Castro are dictators. Rosa must be sensitive about what she writes about Castro or risk being denied entry back into Cuba.

Rosa is curious about the possible Mob involvement at Tropicana. Ofelia and Martin went to Trafficante's daughter's wedding and were personally entertained by Frankie Carbo (a hit man for Bugsy Siegel in the 1930s) when they visited New York. Ofelia maintains that this was just a good business relationship. but Rosa isn't so sure. It is up to the reader to decide who is right.

There are also questions about Ofelia's relationship with her roommate (Rosa Sanchez). They have been together for more than 30 years yet when asked, Ofelia states that Rosa is a close friend but they are not a couple.

Lowinger has written a book that reads like a juicy novel. She has a great writing style, I kept turning the pages to find out what happened next. After reading the personal anecdotes and seeing the photos, I felt like I knew the various characters (the showgirls, the dancers and roulette dealers). I also enjoyed finding out what happened to everyone in recent years.

Armchair Interviews says: Come spend some time at the Tropicana and find out why it was paradise under the stars.

Rosita Lowinger brings Cuba in the '40s and '50s to vibrant life in this excellent book. Anybody interested in learning about the island of Cuba should read it, because it's chock-full of historical facts. In addition, you learn all about the politics, the music, the cabaret circuit, the culture, even the Mafia connections! Rosita is an excellent writer who puts lots of "sabor" in her prose. I hope she's working on the screeplay right now. You cannot put the damn book down! It's easily the best I've read all year.

I am just beginning my hobby with a metal detector. I purchased several books on treasure hunting and this is by far the best. It has a broad range of extremely useful information. By all means start with this book if you too are a beginner. Most of the other books I bought had a lot of fluff. This book has a ton of useful information and guidance.

No matter what your treasure, be it coins, bottles, or somethisg else, this book has great tips on where and how to find it. I originally bought a copy for my son and was so impressed that I bought another copy for myself.

This book has a lot of information about treasures all over the country. Tells you where to look, how to go about hunting and what equipment you need and what to do when you find your treasures.

I was looking for a book on using a metal detector. This was not it.

This book is an invaluable resource for the beginner and even the intermediate detectorist. It has filled me with new ideas of where and how to search for lost valuables and coins. The tidbits on history and archeology were most interesting.

I passed on this book when it first appeared figuring a mere concert list wouldn't be very interesting, what a blunder! This book is far more than a concert chronology, it's an enthralling history of the band, bursting with photos and short essays on the people, places and events that make up Who history. This was clearly a labor of love for the authors, and if Who fanatics have been able to find a few errors scattered around, big deal, I'm just glad the book was reissued as a sub-compact paperback updated to the shows following the death of John Entwistle. As the surviving members of The Who have chosen to "Defiantly spit into the abyss" and continue to tour to critical and public acclaim, further editions of this fine book are entirely justifed. And boy was I thrilled to recently find I still have a ticket stub from a Who show thirty years ago documented in this book. There are maybe half a dozen essential books about The Who and this is one of them, if it's the only one you buy then you've made a good choice, it's outstanding whether you're a new Who fan or a grizzled Wholigan.

Seem to be reading and listening a lot to the Who, and this book was an impulse buy.

For the fan, this is a way to walk through history with the band, from the earliest beginnings as the Detours, and even before with Daltrey's founding of the group, and Townshend and Entwistle's affiliation with others.

A lot of stories, memorabilia, set lists, and very interesting stuff.

I really enjoyed this book. Especially the great photos included.
I bought my copy in London, so it was nice to travel parts of London and see a few places where they actually played! But it's really only for die hard fans of the band (like myself, I guess). Also interesting are the set lists to the shows they played.
I'm no good at writing reviews, but I'll highly recommend this one. It's worth the price. A thanks to Irish Jack and Joe McMichael for making it.

And of course The Who. The greatest band in the world.

First thing you should know is that while this is a thick book, it is also small; around 6" x 5", which is quaint, and not a flaw in anyway, just a surprise. There are lots of great pictures, reviews, accounts, and set lists provided.

The flaw, to my mind though, is that there are no references about circulating RECORDINGS of these shows. Most of the hardcore fans who would buy this book probably collect tapes, bootlegs, and cdrs. Most of the time a setlist or stage comments are provided for a show it's because a recording exists. I would have loved it if the authors could have aknowledged this with brief comments like, "A clear, but distant audience recording exists for the first 80 minutes of the concert" or "A mixed soundboard recording of this show has been bootlegged and rereleased many times." There are websites with this kind of information and other highly collected bands, such as Led Zeppelin, have entire books devoted to the collection of unreleased material.

If you're a fan you're guaranteed to enjoy this book regardless, so get it!

If you get an opportunity to see The Who (now on tour - summer/fall 2000) please do so. Other than Bruce Springsteen, they are without peer on stage.This book does a fine job of detailing Who gigs from the early 1960's (as the Detours)to the 1996-1997 Quadrophenia tour. The authors recap the songs, the stage "happenings" (smashed guitars, onstage feuds, etc.)and other "Odds & Sods". It's kind of like a baseball box score for Who fans! If you're already a Who fan (or are an aspiring one) this is THE book for you!

This book was excellent!!!

I commend the author for her expertise in associating individuals with the Bid Whist card game. The book is funny and interesting, in that it keeps the reader guessing as to which turn the story will take next.

In a card game, you never know which hand you will be dealt or how you will play that hand. So were the relationships in this book, as the players made calulated and reactionary decisions based on their circumstances. Although the decisions the players made affected everyone around them, the players were only concerned with themselves. You will be quite surprised at who the Joker really is in Bid Whist.

If you are looking for a book that is entertaining and a quick read, I highly recommend this book.

I had a chance to read it after my husband finished the book, I really enjoyed it.

I just finished reading this book and it blew me away! The way that it started out I thought that it was going to be like ever other book, and then it started to happen. Things I did not expect started happening. People started acting like jokers, and some people were truly Kings and Queens. I was truly impressed with the message that this book conveyed. For every women that has had a joker, what was your part in it?

Ms. Ashford has done a brilliant job of weaving a facinating and inspiring story that catches the reader by surprise like an exhilirating rollercoaster ride. The characters are multi-fauceted, and their relationships are cleverly depicted. There are also threads of history that provide a interesting look at a not so far away time.

Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. I hope to see this one on the big screen.

I've never read a book about Bid Whist and I have always wondered how the game was played. Lucky for me the directions for Bid Whist are in the begining of the book. The story is based on a group of friends and some not so friendly that meet weekly to play the game. There is a lot of drama in the lives of these players.Some play games and some get played. I like the main character. I liked the way she handled herself and her husbands affairs while trying to help her daughter who is confused and trying to figure life out for herself. This was a good read. I enjoyed it. It was inspirational, laugh out loud funny and the characters are some people you will know. Some you like and some you don't.
Reviewed by
Dawnny

I am another person who bought this book who doesn't even play Warcraft but is just a lover of Fantasy art. I've always loved the Warcraft universe, which seemed like an expansion of/variation on the fantasy universe first created by Tolkien.

When I got this book I was surprised by just what a hefty volume this is. This is a very thick book printed on the finest quality heavy-duty stock.

Not only did this book live up to my expectations, but I found that the great variety of styles and artists included has also helped me to clarify my own tastes in Fantasy art, and has even introduced me to some great new artists I had never heard of before.

The spectrum includes everything from the breathtaking photo-like hyper-realism of Clint Langely (check out his great new solo book "The Art of Clint Langely" by the way!), to the brilliant use of colour in the works of Jim Murray (very Bisley-esque) and Michael Komarck, to well-established artists like Todd McFarlane (--why are both of the pieces credited to him signed as "Greg Capullo"???) and Udon Studios, to the cartoony cuteness of the works of the book's editor Samwise Didier (sorry Samwise, but just gotta say YECH~!)

It was also interesting observing the differences in the variety of mediums used (--I found I preferred good ol' non-digital art.) And a few pieces of preliminary sketches are also included to give us a brief taste of the process from concept to finished work (In some cases I found I liked the initial sketch better than the finished product. Samwise Didier, you ninny, what were you thinking? [...])

The book is organized into sections according to Warhammer race of the subject of the painting. And in the back it also includes indexes of the works by title and by artist, making it easy to look up other works by an artist you may find you particularly like.

I am happy to highly recommend this book, and look forward to further volumes in this series (this book says "Volume 1" on it, hooboy!). I really feel like I got my money's worth with this one. Well done people!

And to all you publishers out there, I hope that other series of trading card art will be made into beautiful art books like this. (--Hear that Wizards of the Coast?) It's such a waste just having it on those tiny little cards. It deserves to be enjoyed properly like this!

And to you people over at Blizzard, how about some art books for Diablo and Starcraft too? I love them too!

I bought this as a gift. The person who received it just loves the book. He really enjoy the art work. So if you need a gift for someone who plays world of warcraft I'd recommend it as a good gift.

This is a wonderful book, and any fan of fantasy art, or Warcraft, would absolutely love it, I've had it for over a month, and i still open it up and just stare at some of the wonderful artwork. Just buy it, you won't be disappointed.

I am not a World of Warcraft gamer, but the beautiful art in this book drew me to it the moment I saw it on the shelf in my local book store. This book is filled with page after page of gorgeous renditions of highly stylized creatures and monsters that entrance the viewer. Discovering some of these artists for the first time was a treat for me, so much so, that I had to go online to find out more about some of them. This is a wonderful book with some great art in it. I highly recommend it for both WoW gamers and non-gamers alike!

I was looking for the perfect book to display the beautiful works of art I had seen in the world of warcraft franchise. This book certainly delivered. There is nothing low quality about this book. It included many of the pictures I'd already seen on the internet and many beautiful paintings I had never seen before. I'll let each buyer see for themselves, but the book is organized in a very simple and interesting way. It is so full of paintings, even after a month, I can look through and find a painting I'd never noticed before, and as an amateur artist, I find plenty of inspiration. A valuable book for any fan of warcraft or fan of fantasy art.

Al-Jazeera is the all-Arabic TV news channel which burst on to the international scene in the wake of September 11 and the war in Afghanistan. Its unfettered access to that country during the war and its showing of the bin Laden tapes made it an automatic force on the world stage.Based in the Gulf state of Qatar, it came from the remnants of the BBC Arabic TV service. With the help of startup money from the Emir of Qatar, Al-Jazeera was to have complete editorial independence.In a part of the world where the press is usually government controlled, Al-Jazeera is not afraid to get specific and name names. At one time or another, it has been criticized or condemned by seemingly every government in the Arab world, for broadcasting things that the local government would prefer not be broadcast. Every local editorial of condemnation and every denial of press credentials to Al-Jazeera reporters just increases its audience all over the world by satellite.One of the things that Al-Jazeera is most known for is its talk shows, especially a nightly, two-hour show called The Opposite Direction. Two guests appear on the show, with totally opposite opinions on a certain issue, and with help from live phone calls, the sparks fly. Even by American TV standards, things get pretty loud and lively. Arab governments have noticed, and have begun imitating the format on their tame and boring government TV channels.Even though Al-Jazeera is an Arab TV channel, it has tried very hard to be impartial, hosting members of the Bush Administration, after September 11, and government officials from Israel.For those who want to decide for themselves if Al-Jazeera is a legitimate news broadcaster or a terrorist mouthpiece, this book is highly recommended. It's comprehensive, clearly written and is quite enlightening.

All the reviews I've read for this book have been unequivocally complimentary. One newspaper said it should be required reading for Bush's entire cabinet! Quite bold, but rightly so. After reading this book, I came to the realization that everything Al-Jazeera is courageous enough to air, my own country's media is petrified of. I wonder why our government is so afraid of a democratic Arab world? While the dozens of titles coming out on the Middle East are regurgitating the same history and concepts, this book is a refreshing new look at a MODERN Middle East, not a primitive and orientalized one.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it for everyone striving to know about the Arab media from an objective perspective. The book will inform you about the Arabs' struggle for freedom of speech through an unbiased Arab network that is not subject to the control of any government. The authors have succesfully portrayed the true picture of the Arab media scene through Arab eyes.

Al Jazeera is giving us a vivid and moving picture of a New Arab World in the making. There is no way to go back in times. This media channel is succeeding to keep one step ahead of many others advancing, foreign or local, TVs.
Live transmissions are notably courageous in their way struggling so hard to persuade local (and influential) governments to let them work into the `heart' of the stories being anchored, against the background of petty local political bickering and futility.
It is not easy, but the beauty about it is that it is also challenging, and a source of pride to millions of Arabs

Collaboratively written by Egyptian born Middle East journalist Mohammed El-Nawawy and Middle East media expert Adel Iskandar, Al-Jazeera: How The Free Arab News Network Scooped The World And Changed The Middle East is a fascinating and informed history. This is a superbly presented account of Al-Jazeera, a modern, independent, entirely Arab television news network based in Qatar, which since the September 11 attacks, gained high profile prominence through daily exposure on CNN. This is also the compelling story of Al-Jazeera's struggle to keep its independence as an international news network, beholden to none. Overall, Al-Jazeera is an engaging, unique, detailed study of the origin of the Al-Jazeera network, its broadcasts, its effect on Arab viewers, and its struggle for a free press. Al-Jazeera is very highly recommended for Journalism Studies and Mideast Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

What a wonderful resource! This book offers so many alchemical and hermetic diagrams and illustrations, it's hard to choose where to start. From the musical and mystical illustrations of Robert Fludd, to William Blake, this book has it all.

Nicely organized by numerous categories such as "Light and Darkness," "Serpent," and "Divine Geometry." The only drawback is that the descriptions for the illustrations are sometimes difficult to understand. I'm not an expert on alchemy, and at times I became a bit frustrated since some of the concepts are not easily grasped.

But perhaps it is not necessary that just our intellect comprehends these phenomenal drawings since many of the illustrations visually send messages our subconscious minds receive and interpret. For that reason alone, this book is a must-have for anyone seriously interested in learning and experiencing more about alchemy and hermeticism.

Everyone else is saying what I would. This book is fantastic. Great illustrations, great captions, great information hard to find elsewhere! Get it!

This book is fat and loaded with color plates of pretty much every major example of medieval/renaissance alchemical artwork. It seems impossible that such a book would be so inexpensive! As such it is an invaluable reference guide. There are textual explanations of each plate included in the book, some more detailed than others, though the text won't help you understand the emblems or the subtext if you don't already know about it. I would recommend anyone interested in alchemical imagery to visit the Alchemy website (...) and check out anything else online by Adam McLean.

All the other reviewers have already said it: this book is absoluteley amazing and the price .. I feel almost guilty paying so little for it. This book is a treasure of the ages. I didn't know much about alchemy when I bought it (though the subject is one that has always interested me.) Reading it was a long, slow, contemplative journey. There's a vast wealth of information there, between the glorious pictures and the intelligent captions, the thoughtful text at the beginning of each section ... It seems alchemy is not merely a materialistic quest for profit by turning cheap metals into gold; the true goal of "philosophical" alchemy was to turn the alchemist himself into spiritual gold, in other words, to obtain enlightenment. It's a quest to find God, and many of its principles cannot be explained in words. Many of its secrets cannot be told except in cryptic hints and mysterious symbols, because discovering the key for yourself is part of the journey. Reading this book feels almost like taking a few steps down that road, and glimpsing from far away the great Light waiting at the end of it ...
This is definitely a "must read" if you have any interest in metaphysical subjects.

Hot off the shelf from some wizard harem this "brickbook" consisting of about a 1000 full-color illustrations on over 700 pages of glossified paper from the Renaissance & Enlightenment eras' for the most part, but going back to the early post-crucfixion days of the prevailing Mystery Religions and into our terrifying millenary day with a few examples of Modernist/Post-Modernist Art such as Duchamp's work & the playwright August Strindberg's cosmological photographic exposures to the night sky; several references to Fulcanelli as well as Theosophical Architectural drawings...around 30 pieces from the AURORA CONSURGENS (14-17th cen./see CGJung's writings) are celebrated herein, they are some of the most intriguing works I have ever seen!; all variety of outtakes from myriad illuminated manuscripts & Medieval incunabula fill these pages; but it is mostly the Renaissance Hermetic texts of the Alchemists and Mystics (hence the title) that is represented in the finest detailed prints; from Anastasius Kircher's beautiful cabalistic diagrams to the mnemonic palaces & Hermetic/Alchemical graphics of Robert Fludd, H.Khunrath, Jacob Bohme, M.Maier...the names go on in a never ending procession of Renaissance & Enlightenment Artistic brilliance. There is no other work ever printed in the last few hundred years, at least that I have ever even heard of mythologized by bibliophiles & collectors or Antiquarians that warrants comparison with such a high-quality work as this is and for such a trifle of a price! For the sheer bulk, much less the quality prints that one gets from Sir Benedikt Taschen's wondrous press (which is unequalled in the Art world!) the price is practically nil as even a lesser book consisting of half the number of the same works would go for 10 times what Mr. taschen's offering it to the world for!...and only Taschen could ever come up with a second volume to match it! I & many others I suppose have fantasized for hundreds of years perhaps for a book like this to be published at under a 1000 dollars say; for it is definitely a luxury item for poorer students & scholars both independent and academic to be able to afford such a sublime effort and product as this, for which I thank Taschen press from the bottom of a bookish passion for all they have done in just the past decade or so. The work defends itself, nay it has no need but only should be championed by anyone who appreciates and admires history itself. This book is a lens by which one can focus in on lost eras whose words cannot be trusted nearly as much as these illustrative works; it's a catalogue of dreams, maps of lost and/or forgotten utopian ideals, charts of spiritual aspirations and records of strange initiations; a massive book of riddles in pictograph, for which the puzzle-subject is one's very own microprosopus-being whose final assembly means heaven reached or paradise achieved; & at the least intellectual delight/enlightenment, & gnosis at best. The artwork is perhaps from the most sublime genre of them all, the human tradition at the heart of all scientific endeavor & religious searching; it is no less than an journey into both inner & outer space, whose realms the artists' believed an iron lung was not necessary in order to explore, and which many mystics & theologians of contemporary times as well as philosophers & scientists of the past are inclined to agree. The book should give "Occulture" a whole new rightful respect for it's rich past filled with sheer artistic brilliance and depth of knowledge, and I need not mention those aspirations which are the highest humankind can ever aspire to in any age that are herein depicted and portrayed in the most profound ways imaginable that many dragons herein seem almost ready to take flight in many a reader's enriched mind...ouroboros, the snake that eats itself revolves furiously and only ceases and stands still when the book is opened so that its admirers may better perceive its classical serpentine symmetry...such is the magic that is just barely contained in this museum catalogue from the deepest recesses of humankind's time here in these terrestrial & celestial spheres in the immense spaces, sublime in all the terror they hold for such miniscule beings, ("Aliens of Universal charity" as Constant said) aspiring to so large a consciousness which is charted in the finest infinitesimal details in this atlas of human history.