The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age

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Amazing - Rated
This book may be of value to academic historians labouring under the misconception that Renaissance magic is little more than divinely-inspired bunkum. If you are such a historian, then I would heartily recommend this book to you. You may find it revelatory.
However, the reason I refer to it as 'amazing' above, is because although the author could be said to give a more balanced view of the period, this is of very little consequence because in every crucial area she is no better than any other dull-as-ditchwater historian. It is as if she has looked a potentially very interesting time in history in the eye, and failed to register that all the time it was actually looking back at her.
I found myself almost leafing through page after page of inconsequential, parochial argument about such unspiritual things as 'facts' and the 'influence' of one writer on another, without ever gaining even a fragment of insight into the so-called 'occult philosophy' itself.
So to summarise: if you are looking for a misconceived trawl through the facts, whose aim is simply to correct the misconceptions harboured by fools, then buy this book. Perhaps you could skim it and then put it on your shelf.
Otherwise, spend your time doing something (anything) else.

Must have book for anyone interested in Occult philosophy. - Rated
An outstanding accomplishment by a writer who has given so much fresh understanding on this subject over the years. The real marvel is how anyone could do so much justice to an important review of such lives as those of John Dee, Pico Della Mirandola, Francesco Giorgi, Henry Cornelius Agrippa et al. This is a real gem and Dame Frances Yates shows the way yet again for the historians in rescuing such important figures from the shadowy world of Renaissance 'Magic'