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Cover of Napoleon's Buttons - 17 Molecules That Changed History

Napoleon's Buttons - 17 Molecules That Changed History

✍ Scribed by Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History


Book ID
106977785
Publisher
Penguin
Year
2003
Tongue
English
Weight
2 MB
Category
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781585423316

No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.

✦ Synopsis


From Booklist

Women who use birth control pills probably care more about their effectiveness than about how they actually work, and although ignorance here may be bliss, it also cheats one of a good science story, involving a driven chemist making a serendipitous discovery about cortisone. Le Couteur and Burreson roll out 17 episodes selected for their salience in affecting health as well as history at large. This pair of chemists doesn't overinterpret a particular chemical as a historical influence but makes speculating on, say, piperene, a sporting diversion. Piperene is the molecule that causes taste buds to sting from pepper. Venice had a monopoly on the pepper trade, which rivals wished to break, motivating the voyages of discovery. Although connections frame the authors' tales (the title refers to tin buttons, which contributed to Napoleon's defeat in Russia), each story dwells on its molecular protagonist. The authors diagram the formula and shape of each, from the polymer behind the sheen in silk to the ionic bonds in the taste of salt. Well-conceived, well-done popular science. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright Β© American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Penny Le Couteur, Ph.D., has been a professor of chemistry at Capilano College in British Columbia for more than thirty years.

Jay Burreson, Ph.D., has worked as an industrial chemist and held a National Institutes of Health special fellowship.


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