By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, Giambattista Della Porta's Natural Magic (1559) conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Yet, according to William Eamon, it is in the "how-to" books written by medieval alchemists, magicians, and artisans that modern science has its roots. These compilations of recipes on everythi...

In the tradition of Galileo's Daughter and Brunelleschi's Dome, this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance—in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy—through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of the people, the scorn of the medical establishment, and a reputation as one of the age's most ...

Ambientato nell’Italia del tardo Rinascimento, questo “thriller storico” esplora la medicina e la cultura dell’epoca attraverso la vicenda biografica del primo “medico delle celebrità”, Leonardo Fioravanti. William Eamon – che per questo libro è stato candidato al Premio Pulitzer – segue i numerosi viaggi di Fioravanti attraverso l’Italia e l’Europa, guidandoci in un mondo in cui medici, maghi, alchimisti e ciarlatani si confondono. Ne emerge un affresco gustoso che non mancherà di appassi...

Secrets in all their variety permeated early modern Europe, from the whispers of ambassadors at court to the emphatically publicized books of home remedies that flew from presses and booksellers’ shops. This interdisciplinary volume draws on approaches from art history and cultural studies to investigate the manifestations of secrecy in printed books and drawings, staircases and narrative paintings, ecclesiastical furnishings and engravers’ tools. Topics include how patrons of art and arch...

This twentieth issue of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned consists of five sharp, suspenseful, thought provoking short stories—each from a different featured master of speculative fiction.Eamon Ambrose shares a tale of First ContactJessica West gives us a glimpse from the moonRhett C. Bruno tallies colonial choicesBob Williams relays the trials and tribulations of a girl on a distant worldAnd Daniel Arthur Smith furthers the adventure of the Off-World...

This Sixth Omnibus edition of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned is loaded with fourteen sharp, suspenseful, thought provoking short stories - from eleven of today’s top speculative fiction writers.Tales from the Canyons of the Damned (canyonsofthedamned.com) is a dark science fiction, horror, & slipstream magazine we've been working on since 2015. What is Dark Science Fiction and Horror? Think of it as a literary Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or Outer Limits, it's Netflix's Blac...