History of Magic and Experimental Science is a two-volume study by Lynn Thorndike, American historian of medieval science and alchemy. The book covers a period from antique until the thirteen century. Thorndike writes about magic and science in medieval times with the goal of finding a historical truth. Table of Contents: Volume 1: Book I. The Roman Empire Book II. Early Christian Thought Book III. The Early Middle Ages Volume 2: Book IV. The Twelfth Century Book V. The Thirteenth Century

Science is a living, organic activity, the meaning and understanding of which have evolved incrementally over human history. This book, the first in a roughly chronological series, explores the development of the methodology and major ideas of science, in historical context, from ancient times to the decline of classical civilizations around 300 A.D. It includes details specific to the histories of specialized sciences including astronomy, medicine and physics--along with Roman engineering and Greek philosophy. It closely describes the contributions of such individuals as Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Seneca, Pliny the Elder, and Galen.

Most people have heard of pyrite, the brassy yellow mineral sometimes known as fool's gold. Pyrite behaves like stone and shines like metal, and its dual nature makes it a source of both metals and sulfur. Despite being the most common sulfide mineral on the earth's surface, pyrite's bright crystals have attracted the attention of many different cultures, and its nearly identical visual appearance to gold has led to tales of fraud, trickery, and claims of alchemy. Pyrite occupies a unique place in human history: it became an integral part of mining culture in America during the 19th century, and it has a presence in ancient Sumerian texts, Greek philosophy, and medieval poetry, becoming a symbol for anything overvalued. In Pyrite, geochemist and author David Rickard blends basic science and historical narrative to describe the many unique ways pyrite is integral to our world. He explains the basic science of oxidation, showing us why the mineral looks like gold, and inspects death zones of present oceans where pyrite-related hydrogen sulfide destroys oxygen in the waters. Rickard analyzes pyrite's role in manufacturing sulfuric acid and discusses the significant appearance of the mineral in literature, history, and the development of societies. The mineral's influence extends from human evolution and culture, through science and industry, to our understanding of ancient, modern, and future earth environments. Energetic and accessible, Pyrite is the first book to show readers the history and science of a mineral that helped make the modern world.

A study of the Kit?b Na‘t al-?ayaw?n (Book on the Characteristics of Animals), this book considers together text and image in this unique thirteenth-century manuscript, thereby contributing to the wider scholarship on Middle Eastern painting and art of the pre-modern period.

An illustrated archeology of the imagination that reveals how artists and writers from the late 16th to the early 19th century, most of whom had never seen North America, portrayed the natural history and landscape of North America to European readers.