On Thursday September 11th, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon

will review the new book "The Chemistry of Alchemy" by three chemists Cathy

Cobb, Monty Fetterolf and Harold Goldwhite. The authors are all chemists and

chemistry teachers, but they have a fond affection for Alchemy and reveal

the Art as their hobby. This is a one-of-a-kind book: an introduction to

practical laboratory Alchemy through history from a scientific perspective

so that the student learns what alchemical terms really mean ( for instance

Mercury can mean any metal in liquid or molten form, and Sulfur is any

sulfide) and what the old alchemists were trying to do and how they actually

tried to do it -- and in some cases did it. The book is filled with

fascinating experiments that the apprentice can try in his or her kitchen

laboratory with the professional chemists' emphasis on safety and with safer

substitutes for dangerous materials such as real mercury. They even have a

recipe for making what some alchemists thought was The Philosopher's Stone.

You will also learn how to make "alchemical gold" good enough to have gotten

you buried alive or burned at the stake in the Middle Ages. Although the

authors retain their scientific perspective they have profound respect for

the genuine accomplishments of The Art and its venerable adepts. This book

is a must-have for anyone who aspires to be a modern alchemist. -- So tune

in and we will spend an hour in the laboratory with modern masters of the

ancient Art.