This book challenges prevailing conjectures about the origins and authorship of key alchemical and chemical texts by presenting new evidence from extensive manuscript research. The author, Aḥmad Yūsuf Ḥasan, critically examines eight issues in the history of Latin and Arabic alchemy, refuting widely accepted theories based on conjecture with concrete evidence. The essays draw upon extensive research into Arabic manuscripts and Latin literature to argue for the Arabic origin of influential works like the Summa Perfectionis and the first Western treatise on alchemy, Liber de compositione alchimiae. The findings also shed light on early knowledge of chemical industrial recipes, potassium nitrate, nitric acid, gunpowder, wine distillation, and the composition of Damascus steel, pushing back established timelines for these discoveries.

This scholarly work is based on extensive research into primary sources, including Arabic manuscripts and Latin literature, offering a rigorous challenge to established historical narratives in alchemy and chemistry. The author's findings, particularly regarding the origins of key texts and early chemical knowledge, are presented as evidence-based arguments intended to correct widely held misconceptions. The book's focus on detailed textual analysis and historical evidence suggests it is aimed at specialists and researchers in the history of science and medieval studies.