Philip Ball: Elixirs, Experiments & the Birth of Modern Science

[Paul Ferguson]

"Philip Ball is such a prolific author that he confesses to losing count of the number of books he’s published. A quick counting of those listed on his website puts the total at 30, which makes his latest—Alchemy: An Illustrated History of Elixirs, Experiments, and the Birth of Modern Science, published Sept. 2—number 31."


https://cen.acs.org/analytical-chemistry...eb/2025/09

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300280876/alchemy/

[Paul Ferguson]

"The following is an excerpt from Chapter Three of Philip Ball’s new book, Alchemy: An Illustrated History of Elixirs, Experiments, and the Birth of Modern Science. In the book, rich illustrations complement a narrative history of the methods and techniques developed in alchemical workshops, the search for the philosopher’s stone and “elixirs of life” that extended across diverse cultures, and the controversies surrounding the practices of making alchemical gold and alchemical medicine."

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2025/09/08/an...n-science/