Please recommend a good book about Daoism

[alchemystical]

Something that will give a newcomer insight into all aspects of Daoism from its inception, texts, practice etc... Would prefer something I can get my teeth into from an author that knows what they are talking about. Thanks

[SirPalomides]

For a brief historical overview, Isabelle Robinet's Taoism: Growth of a Religion is good. For a very specific, up close look at how it is practiced by a highly trained Zhengyi priest in Taiwan, see Michael Saso's Daoist Master Zhuang.

[alchemystical]

5 minutes ago, SirPalomides said:

For a brief historical overview, Isabelle Robinet's Taoism: Growth of a Religion is good. For a very specific, up close look at how it is practiced by a highly trained Zhengyi priest in Taiwan, see Michael Saso's Daoist Master Zhuang.

 

Is there a third option for Goldilocks? Ideally something that sits between the two, a just right if you will that covers, well, everything but especially things like alchemy, the history and origins of Daoism, how it fared through the ages, the primary texts/concepts etc..

[SirPalomides]

Well, when I say Robinet's overview is brief, I don't mean shallow. It will probably have what you're looking for. And the Saso book, while specific, does explain, in detail,  several historical Daoist principles practices. If you want to see a very broad selection of primary texts, Livia Kohn's The Taoist Experience is a good companion to Robinet's history.

 

I've only read small parts of it but Louis Komjathy's The Daoist Tradition looks like a good introduction.

[SirPalomides]

Oh and for alchemy specifically Fabrizio Pregadio has this free booklet online as an introduction: https://www.goldenelixir.com/press/occ_03_jindan_history.html