Aristotle's Alchemy

For range Aristotle has no equal. As well as a philosopher of morals, politics, ethics and science, he was a metaphysician, logician, economist, biologist, psychologist and aesthete. All these classifications, current today, were his. In most of them he had no predecessor and for centuries, no successor. Aristotle did not just influence the course of western thought - he is part of its essence, and is as much alive in today's thinking as he was in ancient Athens. Through a narrative of various voices, the fascinating story of Aristotle's life is told, from the early death of his parents to his pupilage under Plato, from the establishment his exemplary school, the Lyceum, to his exile from Athens on a charge of impunity. Kreon, a fictional pupil of the great master, provides a peg for most of the philosophy and scientific discussion. But we also hear from Aristotle's loyal wife, his friends and correspondents, as well as personal letters from Plato, Philip (of Macedon) and others in this incredibly entertaining and yet enlightening fictional mosaic of the real man, Aristotle.