The Elixir and the Stone. A History of Magic and Alchemy. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Published by Viking (Penguin Group) Autumn 1997.

Each new book from the combined pen of Baigent and Leigh demonstrates a sharpening of historical and philosophical acuity. It is precisely this combination of fact and philosophical interpretation which sets their more recent work apart from the distant poles of dry academic treatments and the confused stratosphere of broad conspiracy-scapes. The philosophical point underlying this new, well-researched work on the history of Hermetic thought and practice (mainly in the west) appears to be that the catastrophic and progressive sundering of questions of science from questions of spirituality and religion in the 17th and 18th centuries has left the west exposed not only to the scurrilous recrudescence of superstitious mania and manipulation, but to the even more damaging phenomenon of a fragmentation of reality.
    The authors want their readers to think and act for themselves, believing that a full appreciation of the cosmos-mind union inherent in the Hermetic tradition (and which stands at the philosophical root of Freemasonry, as well as being at the source of much early scientific endeavour) can help the west to recover the depth and unity of its earliest life-giving culture. The authors are at their most challenging and powerful when applying the lessons of history to the present difficulties of the western mind. The sections on Hermetism in the Middle Ages are also useful, as this is an area normally enveloped in the mist of myth. Both serious students and fans of the Baigent-Leigh style will be enlightened by this new, well-illustrated book, both thoughtful and thought-provoking.
    Tobias Churton