The Alchemy of Air
Author: Hager, Thomas
ISBN: 9780307351791
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE US
Year first published: 15 Nov 2009
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback / softback
For readers of the history and science behind great discoveries and their on-going impact on society. Readers of Dava Sobel, Simon Winchester, and Amir Aczel (Fermat's Last Theorem; The Riddle of the Compass; Descartes's Secret Notebook).
A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch 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.
ISBN: 9780307351791
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE US
Year first published: 15 Nov 2009
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback / softback
For readers of the history and science behind great discoveries and their on-going impact on society. Readers of Dava Sobel, Simon Winchester, and Amir Aczel (Fermat's Last Theorem; The Riddle of the Compass; Descartes's Secret Notebook).
A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch 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.
