Rating: 
Summary: solid history lesson, and lesson in avarice
Review: A very compelling history of the European tradition of porcelain making. Although it does plod along in places this is more reflective of the history than Ms. Gleeson's storytelling. I mainly picked the book up because of the ties to alchemy at the begining, and really I didn't expect to read much past that, but it kept me engaged throughout.
Rating: 
Summary: incredible achievement
Review: A while ago I visited a museum of ceramic art and reading this book made all those porcelain objects come alive! An extremely well written, enchanting and rivetting read!
Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting, but needs an editor.
Review: After Longitude, I was hooked on "eclectic" history, and The Arcanum just what I was looking for.However, I was very frustrated by the poor writing that watered down a very interesting story.
Rating:
Summary: facinating stuff
Review: Amazing, very well written with a very gripping story. Buy it now!!!
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Summary: A true story which reads like a fairytale
Review: Feuding royals! Splendid palaces! Demands for gold! Artistic genius! Secret chemical experiments! No, it's not science fiction and it's not a tale by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm. It's the true story of how porcelain came to the western world and changed it: artistically, economically, politically. You don't need to be remotely interested in porcelain or European history to be drawn in by this superb account of porcelain's western origins. As European nobility competed in ever more rarefied circles for prestige and power, the quest for making porcelain like that perfected by the Chinese became the preferred avenue for cementing one's social position. Gleeson tells the tale of Johann Bottger, an unfortunate young man who bragged once too often of his supposed alchemical powers. His boasts caught the ear of German Prince Augustus, who had Bottger kidnapped, set him up with a lab while keeping him incarcerated, and demanded that Bottger figure out how to produce porcelain. After many, many years and many, many false starts, Bottger did just that and the course of European history was unalterably changed. This is an absolutely fascinating story, told at a breakneck pace and with wonderful detail.
Rating:
Summary: A true story which reads like a fairytale
Review: Feuding royals! Splendid palaces! Demands for gold! Artistic genius! Secret chemical experiments! No, it's not science fiction and it's not a tale by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm. It's the true story of how porcelain came to the western world and changed it: artistically, economically, politically. You don't need to be remotely interested in porcelain or European history to be drawn in by this superb account of porcelain's western origins. As European nobility competed in ever more rarefied circles for prestige and power, the quest for making porcelain like that perfected by the Chinese became the preferred avenue for cementing one's social position. Gleeson tells the tale of Johann Bottger, an unfortunate young man who bragged once too often of his supposed alchemical powers. His boasts caught the ear of German Prince Augustus, who had Bottger kidnapped, set him up with a lab while keeping him incarcerated, and demanded that Bottger figure out how to produce porcelain. After many, many years and many, many false starts, Bottger did just that and the course of European history was unalterably changed. This is an absolutely fascinating story, told at a breakneck pace and with wonderful detail.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating tale
Review: Gleeson makes the mystery, politics and intrigue surrounding the discovery for the formula for making porcelain very engrossing.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun and Surprising History
Review: I didn't know what to expect when I picked up a copy of The Arcanum in a bookstore at the airport. I needed something to read on a four hour flight, and Janet Gleeson's book definitely fit the bill: it kept my attention for the whole four hours. The capsule on the back cover was what really caught my attention. It promised eccentric kings, dungeons and avarice of all kinds. The book did not disappoint! It's as much an entertaining look at how small things make a big difference in history as it is a factual and well-presented history of the introduction of porcelain manufacture in Europe. Gleeson did her homework, and that enabled her to bring to life a cast of character that might have come out of the most imaginative of novels. Almost before our eyes we can see the Augustus' obsession with porcelain, and finding a way to manufacture it, drive events in European history. We see a young and desperate alchemist/charlatan who couldn't have gotten himself in more trouble if he tried. Gleeson weaves these, and other, figures and their strange tale into a history that reads almost like a novel. If you enjoy Barbara Tuchman's books, I suspect that you'll like Janet Gleeson's, as well. Aside from the fascinating story, Gleeson provides a technical discussion of the substance of porcelain ware and its manufacture that should appeal to novice and expert alike. I enjoyed this book immensely; it gave the reader the whole package. I recommend it without reservation and I'll definitely be looking to read more books by this author.
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Summary: Enthrallling, riveting ... porcelain? Who'd 'a thunk it?
Review: I picked this up at a bookstall at Heathrow last week, started it and literally couldn't put it down until the end. Wow! I don't think I've given the history of porcelain five seconds' thought in my life, but while I was reading The Arcanum nothing could have struck me as more fascinating. Janet Gleeson is a born storyteller - and who'd 'a thunk *that* with a background in writing collectors' guides for porcelain and posters? Hello Hollywood - here's a movie waiting to be made! Sex, danger, intrigue, discovery, war, politics, envy, gluttony - hey, all seven deadly sins and then some. As God is my witness, I'll never ignore porcelain again!
Rating:
Summary: Splendidly told history always pleases
Review: If you enjoy splendidly written historical stories, this is a must read. I must admit that the story started to lose its lustre around the time that Meissen loses its lustre; but, in its entirety, the book is a must read. If you've read The Professor and the Madman, this story is equally enthralling.
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