A fascinating and inspirational investigation into the creative and entrepreneurial process.

What drives some people to create something from nothing? Is it ambition, the need for self-fulfillment? Is it about money, power, or even genes? Or, is there a mood of the time that encourages people, and can anyone do it?

The world needs new ideas, new products, new kinds of associations and institutions, new initiatives, art and designs. But these new things seldom come from established organizations. They come from individuals — Charles Handy calls them the New Alchemists, and he has talked to a range of extraordinary people — from Trevor Baylis and Richard Branson to Jane Tewson and Terence Conran — to hear from them the secret to turning basic ideas into creative gold. Elizabeth Handy has used her new style of composite portraits to highlight aspects of all the different alchemists in their particular environments.

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“Charles Handy brings originality and lightness to everything he touches.”
—Management Today

“It offers lessons for us all – policy makers and parents alike.”
—Management Skills and Development

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Charles Handy is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, a self-styled social philosopher and the author of The Hungry Spirit and The Empty Raincoat.

Elizabeth Handy is a portrait photographer.

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