Mention Appertaining To Books Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Title:Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Author:Penny Le Couteur
Book Format:Hardcover
Book Edition:Deluxe Edition
Pages:Pages: 375 pages
Published:April 28th 2003 by Tarcher (first published January 1st 1991)
Categories:Science. Nonfiction. History. Chemistry. Popular Science
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Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History Hardcover | Pages: 375 pages
Rating: 3.95 | 4799 Users | 433 Reviews

Representaion As Books Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Though many factors have been proposed to explain the failure of Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign, it has also been linked to something as small as a button - a tin button, the kind that fastened everything from the greatcoats of Napoleon's officers to the trousers of his foot soldiers. When temperatures drop below 56°F, tin crumbles into powder. Were the soldiers of the Grande Armée acutee fatally weakened by cold because the buttons of their uniforms fell apart? How different our world might be if tin did not disintegrate at low temperatures and the French had continued their eastward expansion!

This fascinating book tells the stories of seventeen molecules that, like the tin of those buttons, greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration and made possible the ensuing voyages of discovery. They resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine; lie behind changes in gender roles, in law, and in the environment; and have determined what we today eat, drink, and wear.

Showing how a change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous differences in the properties of a substance, the authors reveal the astonishing chemical connections among seemingly unrelated events. Napoleon's Buttons offers a novel way to understand how our contemporary world works and how our civilization has been shaped over time.

Details Books Conducive To Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Original Title: Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
ISBN: 1585422207 (ISBN13: 9781585422203)
Edition Language: English


Rating Appertaining To Books Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Ratings: 3.95 From 4799 Users | 433 Reviews

Column Appertaining To Books Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Reductionist perspective on how 17 groups of molecules had a large role on history. This perspective was a bit overblown, but the connections that they highlighted between molecules were interesting, the historical perspectives were sometimes surprising, and there were plenty of facts that I would love to make a trivia quiz around. I was very happy to see chemical structures but was a little disappointed by how a decent number were a bit warped.

In high school (...and... okay- college, too) I was not, um, very "academically inclined." Indeed: I was a slacker and I have never-ever taken a chemistry class. Which could be why I liked this so much; somehow it was presented in a way that was just right for me.I had assumed that I was going to sail through life interested but forever dumb in regards to chemistry. Basically, I would be restricted to reading biographies about chemists and what they did, never really grasping any of it. So this

"Napoleon's Buttons" had the potential to be a most interesting book, covering discoveries of new materials, chemicals, and medicines over the past several hundred years. Examples of topics covered include:--- How European demand for the spice molecule piperine (the basic molecule of pepper) not only fueled early exploration, but also inspired the practice of buying and selling shares in the modern stock market. --- How a minor housecleaning mishap and an exploding cotton apron led to the

Although there are interesting nuggets, there wasn't much new here for a veteran of microhistories. I did learn that dogs, unlike humans, do not need to get their vitamin C through their diet but synthesize it from other products. Alas, we lack the enzyme.

Did the Russians defeat Napoleon because the French army's tin buttons decomposed in the cold Russian winter? It's hard to fight when you're having to hold your pants up and your coats closed.

I had known about this book for some time but simply did not believe that a couple of organic chemists could possibly write a captivating history. I am now printing out that sentence so I can eat it. This was one of the most original spins on world history that I have ever read.Drs. Le Couteur and Burreson do indeed fill a hefty number of pages with diagrams of chemical structures and formulae but none of them are essential to the understanding of this book. It is absolutely a book on history,

Im really interested in science but completely hopeless when it comes to the details. I was reading this book while staying at a friends and was so fascinated with it that I kept quoting bits to her. I said that I skimmed through the parts with all the chemical formulae and showed her a page. Another fascinating fact then arose - my friend had originally planned to do chemistry at University (though she changed that to a business degree). I so love how talking about books takes you to all sorts