Rating: 
Summary: A melancholy history of a fascinating element
Review: This was first published in Great Britain with the title The Shocking History of Phosphorus. Even with such a provocative title one might wonder how a book devoted to a single chemical element could find commercial success. The fact that the book has now been published in the United States and Canada suggests that author John Emsley knows what he is doing. He reduces the dry chemistry to a minimum and accentuates the sordid details, making this an interesting read.Emsley begins with alchemy in the seventeenth century and how phosphorus was first manufactured from copious pots of urine, and how the small amounts obtained were used in demonstrations before royalty. By the by we gain some historical insight into the lives of the European alchemists and their methods. Emsley then delves into the medical use of phosphorus, proscribed for ailments as diverse as TB and melancholia, for which it worthless. Indeed it was worthless for all prescriptions. (Maybe this is how homoepathy began: a vanishingly dilute prescription of phosphorus would be an improvement on the standard dosage!) Phosphorus was even seen as an aphrodisiac. The production of phosphorus really took off in the early nineteenth century with invention of the phosphorus match, aptly named "the lucifer." I thought this was the most interesting part of the book, bringing to mind a world before we had matches and fires had to kept going or started with flint and tender, or perhaps borrowed from your neighbor. Emsley writes that by the end of the nineteenth century "three trillion phosphorus matches were being struck every year" (p. 65). He emphasizes the word "trillion." Next Emsley tells the sad, ugly tale of how the matches were manufactured by children and women sixty hours a week in sweat shop conditions at subsistence wages (if that), and how many of the workers contacted phossy jaw, a disease caused by phosphorus that rots the teeth and jaw and can lead to deformity or death. Then comes the story of Annie Besant and the Salvation Army whose efforts greatly improved the conditions of the workers. Ah, but the worst is to come. As World War I approached we clever people discovered that poisoned gas and incendiary bombs could be made from phosphorus, and so a new horror was ushered in. Finally though, in the latter chapters we see how phosphorus is used in fertilizers and dishwashing detergents. Emsley discusses some of the problems associated with their use. He also goes into how and why our bodies need phosphorus and its role in nutrition. The "phosporus cycle" is discussed and the rather bizarre phenomenon of "spontaneous human combustion" is looked into. Bottom line: this is eye-opening read about an element that has had a major impact on human history for both good and evil, a history that is continuing. (Incidentally, phosphorus was the thirteenth element discovered, element fifteen of the periodic table, thus the somewhat misleading title.)
Rating:
Summary: A melancholy history of a fascinating element
Review: This was first published in Great Britain with the title The Shocking History of Phosphorus. Even with such a provocative title one might wonder how a book devoted to a single chemical element could find commercial success. The fact that the book has now been published in the United States and Canada suggests that author John Emsley knows what he is doing. He reduces the dry chemistry to a minimum and accentuates the sordid details, making this an interesting read. Emsley begins with alchemy in the seventeenth century and how phosphorus was first manufactured from copious pots of urine, and how the small amounts obtained were used in demonstrations before royalty. By the by we gain some historical insight into the lives of the European alchemists and their methods. Emsley then delves into the medical use of phosphorus, proscribed for ailments as diverse as TB and melancholia, for which it worthless. Indeed it was worthless for all prescriptions. (Maybe this is how homoepathy began: a vanishingly dilute prescription of phosphorus would be an improvement on the standard dosage!) Phosphorus was even seen as an aphrodisiac. The production of phosphorus really took off in the early nineteenth century with invention of the phosphorus match, aptly named "the lucifer." I thought this was the most interesting part of the book, bringing to mind a world before we had matches and fires had to kept going or started with flint and tender, or perhaps borrowed from your neighbor. Emsley writes that by the end of the nineteenth century "three trillion phosphorus matches were being struck every year" (p. 65). He emphasizes the word "trillion." Next Emsley tells the sad, ugly tale of how the matches were manufactured by children and women sixty hours a week in sweat shop conditions at subsistence wages (if that), and how many of the workers contacted phossy jaw, a disease caused by phosphorus that rots the teeth and jaw and can lead to deformity or death. Then comes the story of Annie Besant and the Salvation Army whose efforts greatly improved the conditions of the workers. Ah, but the worst is to come. As World War I approached we clever people discovered that poisoned gas and incendiary bombs could be made from phosphorus, and so a new horror was ushered in. Finally though, in the latter chapters we see how phosphorus is used in fertilizers and dishwashing detergents. Emsley discusses some of the problems associated with their use. He also goes into how and why our bodies need phosphorus and its role in nutrition. The "phosporus cycle" is discussed and the rather bizarre phenomenon of "spontaneous human combustion" is looked into. Bottom line: this is eye-opening read about an element that has had a major impact on human history for both good and evil, a history that is continuing. (Incidentally, phosphorus was the thirteenth element discovered, element fifteen of the periodic table, thus the somewhat misleading title.)
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