The Soapmaker's Companion was the third book on making soap that I bought, after Norma Coney's Complete Soapmaker and Soap by Ann Bramson. (Both of those are excellent starter books!) When I bought it, I had a pretty good grasp of the soap making process, had made several batches, and wanted to expand my recipes and experiment. This was the perfect book for me at that time, and I've always held it in high regard. But it's several years and several hundred batches later now, and as I picked up this book again to review it, I can still see why I loved it, but can also see it's limitations. Don't get me wrong, it's a really great book - just stuffed with information, tips and experience...but there are (in my opinion) several weaknesses.

You probably have to be a pretty dedicated soap maker to really appreciate and enjoy the history and traditions of soap making throughout the ages. But I've never really been satisfied just knowing how to make soap...I wanted to know why to make soap, or rather, what has motivated soap makers throughout the centuries. I'm fascinated by how far we've come in science...and at how the process is pretty much still the same. These scans of antique soap making books, courtesy of good old Google, will show you hundreds of years of soap making history. I bet you'll discover some things that you never knew about soap making. I'll also bet that you'll find the same soap making spirit in these authors that us modern soap makers share.
Photo Credit: George Marks / Getty Images