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Tonight is the first event for the new book, and I've spent most of the afternoon at home with curlers in my hair and cucumber circles on the eyes... Continue »

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What We Talk About When We Talk about Anne Frank: Stories
Nathan EnglanderNathan Englander 9780307958709

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Napoleon's Buttons (PB Reprint)

by Penny Le Couteur

ISBN13: 9781585423316
ISBN10: 1585423319
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.

With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Le Couteur and Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.

Synopsis:

With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Le Couteur and Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.

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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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:

: jfsamaior, March 23, 2008 (view all comments by jfsamaior)
Napoleon's Buttons is an extraordinary book! I had the luck to find it and the pleasure of its reading. Chronological and chemistrily organized, it counts as some molecules were discovered, investigated or created through the years and your surprising capacity in influencing historical facts (conquests and explorations) with important repercussions until the current days in the most diverse scientific and social areas. In this fascinating book, as well as in our lives, small details can make all the difference and contribute for the success. Thus, I recommend this book to all the people, independent of the work area.
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: shcarroll, October 3, 2006 (view all comments by shcarroll)
Fascinating! Truly, truly! I was so sad to come to the end of this book that I reread the introduction. The stories of how chemistry changed the history of the world were so well written as to be riveting. Well, I skipped over some of the chemistry diagrams. (But I did read the written explanations of the diagrams.) Chemistry seemed nothing but a boring class of memorizing the periodic table, so I managed to studiously avoid any chemistry in high school or college. But here, chemistry was interwoven with pivotal points in the exploration and conquering of the world, and with the serendipitous chemical compounds that changed society and industry around the world. What a great book!
While I have read my way around the Dewey Decimal System, (with long pauses in science fiction and historical fiction), my usual reads lately have been in suspense and mystery. This book I would recommend to anyone with a curious mind who enjoys a good story.
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Product Details

ISBN:: 9781585423316
Other:: Couteur, Penny Le
Publisher:: Tarcher
Author:: Burreson, Jay
Author:: Le Couteur, Penny
Author:: Couteur, Penny Le
Location:: New York
Subject:: General
Subject:: Chemistry - General
Subject:: History
Subject:: Chemistry
Subject:: Philosophy & Social Aspects
Subject:: History of Science-General
Edition Description:: Trade Paper
Series Volume:: Heft 32, 1998
Publication Date:: 20040524
Binding:: Paperback
Grade Level:: from 12
Language:: English
Illustrations:: Y
Pages:: 384
Dimensions:: 900x600
Age Level:: from 18

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