Princeton Legacy Library
2 total works
The Kingdom of Jordan stands strategically amidst the countries of the Near East, bordered by Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. A small country, poor in resources, it is torn by conflicting tensions and policies and by strife between pro-Western and pro-Soviet elements. This study of Jordan in the English language surveys all aspects of Jordan's life: the land, the people, their history, politics, economy, society, and culture. Mr. Patai fully considers the issue of Westernization versus traditionalism and its probable bearing on Jordan's future. Originally published in 1958. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
This study traces the history of Jewish alchemy from antiquity to the 19th century. It draws on a wide range of previously unexplored sources, revealing that Jews were major players in what was for centuries one of humanity's most compelling intellectual obsessions. Among the myriad subjects treated in the book is the close relationship between alchemy and medicine as practised by Jewish adepts. Other Jewish alchemists combined alchemy with magic or with kabbalistic practices. Still others became, through their alchemical efforts, the forerunners of modern chemistry. The author demonstrates that alchemy was much more than the attempt at transmuting base metals into gold: it was a powerful world view that assumed an essential unity underlying all of nature - and the power of humans to intervene, with God's help, in nature's course.