Status
Available
Call number
Publication
W. W. Norton & Company (Atlas Books) (First Edition)
Pages
214
Description
Antoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry, overthrowing the long-established principles of alchemy and inventing an entirely new terminology, one still in use by chemists. Madison Smartt Bell's enthralling narrative reads like a race to the finish line, as the very circumstances that enabled Lavoisier to secure his reputation as the father of modern chemistry--a considerable fortune and social connections with the likes of Benjamin Franklin--also caused his glory to be cut short by the French Revolution.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
214 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
0393328546 / 9780393328547
User reviews
LibraryThing member teaperson
One of those books I enjoyed simply to learn about something abstruse. Although Bell does a good job of making the chemistry relatively simple and placing it in the context of French culture and revolutionary history. If anything, the actual chemistry gets a bit of short shrift, with my having to
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think back a bit to high school science to remember what was going on with reactions and such. But it was interesting and admirably clear. Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
Bell’s intriguing history of Revolutionary France and science advanced thereabouts is indeed riveting. Well, about as riveting as the chase for oxygen can be, anyways. She weaves together the social and the scientific, the patriotic and the political (sometimes too much), and ends up with a great
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tale of discovery. Show Less
LibraryThing member cmbohn
Too much technical data about this study versus a study done by some other guy, which led to this discovery, which led to this study ....
Not enough biography or an assessment of where Laviosier fits in to the whole study of chemistry overall. There was some interesting stuff in there, and it made a
Not enough biography or an assessment of where Laviosier fits in to the whole study of chemistry overall. There was some interesting stuff in there, and it made a
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good book to follow 'The Lost King of France.' But not quite what I was hoping for. Show Less
LibraryThing member Devil_llama
A decent look at the life of an interesting man, the great Antoine Lavoisier, rightly considered the father of modern chemistry. The book focuses specifically on the last year of Lavoisier's life, just before he lost his head on the guillotine, but does cover a great deal of ground previously to
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explain his ideas and the development of them, focusing in particular on his dethroning of the idea of phlogistan. Althogh the author addresses his scientific discoveries, and the principles he lived and worked by, this is as much an exploration of poltiical crises and how Lavoisier came to be entangled with the Terror in Revolutionary France., as it is a scientific treatise. Overall, it's well worth the time to read, and it's an easy read, to boot. The author writes in short sentences and a very down to earth style which can at times be discomfiting, as it seems to unduly simplify a complex subject. Show Less
LibraryThing member hcubic
There is supposedly a Chinese curse, "May he live in interesting times". While the origin of this phrase is apparently not really in China, it certainly applies to the life of one of the first modern chemists. Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier was a French nobleman who lived from 1743 until he was
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beheaded in 1794. He is given credit for the first statement of the law of conservation of mass, which was possible only after his careful studies of the chemistry of gases. He recognized and isolated both oxygen and hydrogen, was instrumental in discrediting the theory of phlogiston, and he introduced the metric system. One might guess that, had it not been for Lavoisier, current chemistry textbooks would only be about fifteen pages long. What got him beheaded was his involvement in pre-revolutionary French economics and politics, in which he was involved up to his ears. The author of this history is best-known for his novels (none of which I have read), but he uses writing skills to good effect here, and I did not notice any big errors (but I'm just an amateur in chemical history). Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
A pretty basic overview of Lavoisier's scientific accomplishments, placing him in proper context. Like others in this series this book may just not offer enough space for a complete look. Bell's analysis is interesting, but would have benefited greatly from more images (he discusses images in the
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text quite often, but those in the book are few and poorly reproduced). Show Less
Subjects
Call number
SCI A.190