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  Alchemy and Its Exponents

  Manly Palmer Hall

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  Is the transmutation of base metals into gold possible? Is the idea one at which the learned of the modern world can afford to scoff? Alchemy was more than a speculative art: it was also an operative art. Since the time of the immortal Hermes, alchemists have asserted (and not without substantiating evidence) that they could manufacture gold from tin, silver, lead, and mercury. That the galaxy of brilliant philosophic and scientific minds who, over a period of two thousand years, affirmed the actuality of metallic transmutation and multiplication, could be completely sane and rational on all other problems of philosophy and science, yet hopelessly mistaken on this one point, is untenable. Nor is it reasonable that the hundreds declaring to have seen and performed transmutations of metals could all have been dupes, imbeciles, or liars. 
  Those assuming that all alchemists were of unsound mentality would be forced to put in this category nearly all the philosophers and scientists of the ancient and mediæval worlds. Emperors, princes, priests, and common townsfolk have witnessed the apparent miracle of metallic metamorphosis. In the face of existing testimony, anyone is privileged to remain unconvinced, but the scoffer elects to ignore evidence worthy of respectful consideration. Many great alchemists and Hermetic philosophers occupy an honored niche in the Hall of Fame, while their multitudinous critics remain obscure. 

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  Tripped - Nazi Germany the CIA...

  Norman Ohler

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  “A fleet-footed and propulsive account . . . Brilliantly sifting a massive history for its ideological through lines, this is a must-read."" — Publishers Weekly (starred review) 
  The author of the New York Times bestseller Blitzed returns with a provocative new history of drugs and postwar America, examining the untold story of how Nazi experiments into psychedelics covertly influenced CIA research and secretly shaped the War on Drugs.  
  Berlin 1945. Following the fall of the Third Reich, drug use—long kept under control by the Nazis’ strict anti-drug laws—is rampant throughout the city. Split into four sectors, Berlin's drug policies are being enforced under the individual jurisdictions of each allied power—the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and the US. In the American zone, Arthur J. Giuliani of the nascent Federal Bureau of Narcotics is tasked with learning about the Nazis’ anti-drug laws and bringing home anything that might prove “useful” to the United States. 
  Five years later, Harvard professor Dr. Henry Beecher began work with the US government to uncover the research behind the Nazis psychedelics program. Begun as an attempt to find a “truth serum” and experiment with mind control, the Nazi study initially involved mescaline, but quickly expanded to include LSD. Originally created for medical purposes by Swiss pharmaceutical Sandoz, the Nazis coopted the drug for their mind control military research—research that, following the war, the US was desperate to acquire. This research birthed MKUltra, the CIA's notorious brainwashing and psychological torture program during the 1950s and 1960s, and ultimately shaped US drug policy regarding psychedelics for over half a century. 
  Based on extensive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic, Tripped is a wild, unconventional postwar history, a spiritual sequel to Norman Ohler’s New York Times bestseller Blitzed. Revealing the close relationship and hidden connections between the Nazis and the early days of drugs in America, Ohler shares how this secret history held back therapeutic research of psychedelic drugs for decades and eventually became part of the foundation of America’s War on Drugs.

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  Colonial Vietnam: The History of...

  Editors Charles River

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  Before the Vietnam War, most Americans would have been hard pressed to locate Vietnam on a map. South Vietnamese President Diệm’s regime was extremely unpopular, and war broke out between Communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam around the end of the 1950s. Kennedy’s administration tried to prop up the South Vietnamese with training and assistance, but the South Vietnamese military was feeble. A month before his death, Kennedy signed a presidential directive withdrawing 1,000 American personnel, and shortly after Kennedy’s assassination, new President Lyndon B. Johnson reversed course, instead opting to expand American assistance to South Vietnam. 
  	The post-analysis of war is a complicated and process that benefits from hindsight, and the involvement of the United States in Vietnam over about a decade was no exception. Never formally declared as a “war,” the Vietnam War was not fought in clean lines or with clear missions. Viewers of the evening news listening to the “box score” of killed and wounded each night had at best a hazy notion of what was happening a world away in Southeast Asia. If anything, their leaders were both attentive to reelection and on a certain level were themselves unsure of what was truly taking place. A military draft that sent over 50,000 American soldiers to their deaths was triggered by a resolution sought by President Lyndon B. Johnson in a decision to contain communism in a distant Asian land. 

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  The Tales of Odin - Exploring...

  Odessa Nightshade

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  Odin, the Allfather, stands at the heart of Norse mythology as the ruler of Asgard and the most revered of the Aesir gods. His presence looms over the myths, guiding fate through wisdom, war, and magic. Unlike many deities who rule with absolute power, Odin is a seeker—forever chasing knowledge, sacrificing for wisdom, and embracing the harsh realities of destiny. His relentless pursuit of understanding, even at great personal cost, defines his role as a sovereign figure in Norse tradition.  
    
  One of the defining aspects of Odin's character is his thirst for wisdom. Unlike other gods who rely on brute strength or trickery, Odin seeks knowledge from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. He surrenders an eye at Mimir’s well to glimpse the secrets of the universe, proving that true power comes not from force but from insight. His self-imposed suffering on the World Tree, Yggdrasil, where he hangs for nine days and nights to uncover the runes, further exemplifies his willingness to endure hardship for enlightenment. These sacrifices are not acts of desperation but a calculated investment in his dominion. To rule effectively, Odin understands that he must possess knowledge beyond that of gods and mortals alike.  
    
  While wisdom is his greatest pursuit, Odin is also a god of war. Unlike Thor, who thrives in battle with sheer might, Odin’s approach is more strategic. He governs over Valhalla, where fallen warriors, the Einherjar, prepare for Ragnarok. His connection to war is not merely about bloodshed but about the honor and destiny of those who fight. He chooses the slain, sending the Valkyries to collect souls for the final battle. Yet, Odin is not a god who fights on impulse. His understanding of fate informs his actions, and every decision he makes is in preparation for the ultimate conflict. 

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  Saratoga and Yorktown: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  At the end of 1776, the American war effort was on the verge of collapse, and despite Washington’s success at Trenton, the British were confident that they could quell the rebellion in 1777. That winter, the British planned a complicated campaign in which British armies from Canada and New York would strike out across New England and link up, with the goal of cutting off the Northern colonies. Indeed, 1777 did prove to be the pivotal year of the war, but not in the way the British intended. 
  In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin was sent by Congress to France to attempt to secure a critically needed alliance. Franklin was an ideal choice for Enlightened France, which revered Franklin for his scientific accomplishments and his known reputation as a brilliant man. Franklin had also been a diplomat before the Revolution, spending several years in London on behalf of the colonies. However, the French refused to provide more than arms and money throughout 1777, until they learned in December 1777 about Saratoga and Burgoyne’s surrender. With that news, French King Louis XVI entered into a formal military alliance with the United States, and in February 1778, France joined the war. 
  Yorktown was a former tobacco trading post now in decline, not much bigger than a large village. But Yorktown was tucked away on the northern edge of the York peninsula in rural Virginia, and in 1781 it became the site of a brief siege between two small armies, fought with all the decorum and formality of 18th century European warfare. As he made his dispositions at Yorktown in September 1781, he had every reason to expect another British success. The ensuing siege panned out rather differently. On October 19, 1781, for just the second time during the war (the other at Saratoga), an entire British field army surrendered to the rebel patriots.

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  Empathy

  Anonymous

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  Empathy is credited as a factor in improved relationships and even better product development. But while it's easy to say "just put yourself in someone else's shoes," the reality is that understanding the motivations and emotions of others often proves elusive. 
  This book helps you understand what empathy is, why it's important, how to surmount the hurdles that make you less empathetic—and when too much empathy is just too much. 
   
   
   
  This collection of articles from HBR includes "What Is Empathy?" by Daniel Goleman; "Why Compassion Is a Better Managerial Tactic Than Toughness" by Emma Seppala; "What Great Listeners Actually Do" by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman; "Empathy Is Key to a Great Meeting" by Annie McKee; "It’s Harder to Empathize with People If You've Been in Their Shoes" by Rachel Rutton, Mary-Hunter McDonnell, and Loran Nordgren; "Being Powerful Makes You Less Empathetic" by Lou Solomon; "A Process for Empathetic Product Design" by Jon Kolko; "How Facebook Uses Empathy to Keep User Data Safe" by Melissa Luu-Van; "The Limits of Empathy" by Adam Waytz; and "What the Dalai Lama Taught Daniel Goleman About Emotional Intelligence," an interview with Daniel Goleman by Andrea Ovans.

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