Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Rating:
Summary: Great diagrams. Very informative and educational!
Review: This book is valuable in that it makes Organic Chemistry interesting. It is also interesting in that it explores the origin of how things came to be and better yet how they could have been. If you are smart you'll like this book. Even if you have a phobia about Organic Chemistry I would still recommend this one. You might be shocked at how coherent it is. I was.

Rating:
Summary: Weekend Science Read
Review: This book is valuable in that it makes Organic Chemistry interesting. It is also interesting in that it explores the origin of how things came to be and better yet how they could have been. If you are smart you'll like this book. Even if you have a phobia about Organic Chemistry I would still recommend this one. You might be shocked at how coherent it is. I was.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This book was a great read. As an physical organic chemist by training, the formulae were no difficulty, but I don't know how "civilians" would react. It is right up there with _Uncle Tungsten_ as far as books that I would recommend for chemically related cultural literacy. The stories are well told. The information is well organized, with helpful references to previous chapters. The emphasis on the social impacts of these compounds makes the book especially interesting to me (since my familiarity with the compounds is more from the technical side). If I were to find a slight deficiency in this book, it would be in the section on dyes, which does not mention food colorings (of which most that have been approved are no longer permitted).

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This book was a great read. As an physical organic chemist by training, the formulae were no difficulty, but I don't know how "civilians" would react. It is right up there with _Uncle Tungsten_ as far as books that I would recommend for chemically related cultural literacy. The stories are well told. The information is well organized, with helpful references to previous chapters. The emphasis on the social impacts of these compounds makes the book especially interesting to me (since my familiarity with the compounds is more from the technical side). If I were to find a slight deficiency in this book, it would be in the section on dyes, which does not mention food colorings (of which most that have been approved are no longer permitted).

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This book was a great read. As an physical organic chemist by training, the formulae were no difficulty, but I don't know how "civilians" would react. It is right up there with _Uncle Tungsten_ as far as books that I would recommend for chemically related cultural literacy. The stories are well told. The information is well organized, with helpful references to previous chapters. The emphasis on the social impacts of these compounds makes the book especially interesting to me (since my familiarity with the compounds is more from the technical side). If I were to find a slight deficiency in this book, it would be in the section on dyes, which does not mention food colorings (of which most that have been approved are no longer permitted).