The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler
Posted by admin | Posted in Chemistry | Posted on 03-08-2010
5
Product Description
Tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the discovery that changed billions of lives–including your own.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global disaster: Mass starvation was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world’s scientists to find a solution.
This is the story of the two men who found it: brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives.
But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically.
The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war–and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.
email2friend
This book provides an accurate account of the science and engineering associated with one of the most important technical developments of the 20th century – the Haber-Bosch process – intertwined with a gripping human story that exhibits numerous shades of good and evil.
The development of the Haber-Bosch process is a story of a massive effort in industry-based science. Its success had lasting benefits for humanity as a whole, but it also prolonged World War I and so caused many deaths at the time.
This account is well worth reading by those interested in the effects of science on society. It offers many parallels with the Manhattan Project, and some lessons relevant to programs in energy and environmental research underway today.
Rating: 5 / 5
A wonderful telling of the importance of nitrogen in our lives and how some talented individuals changed the world. Reads like a novel with complete, but not too detailed discussions of the science.
Rating: 5 / 5
I stumbled across this book while browsing at the library. I’m always fascinated by how stuff works, and this book combines both an explanation of how nitrogen is produced as well as a historical tale of the people involved.
Rating: 5 / 5
I recommend this book to anyone interested in how the modern world has come to be what it is (for better or worse). The technical level is well suited to a general audience.
Rating: 5 / 5
This centers on the Haber-Bosch process which has so much influence to the current day.
Super relevant.
Rating: 5 / 5