Seven Elements that Changed the World: An Adventure of Ingenuity and Discovery
Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of chemistry can look at the periodic table of elements and feel confident that the vast majority of listed chemicals, save several latecomers synthesized in physics laboratories, serve vital roles in the world around us. For his debut work of nonfiction, however, former British Petroleum CEO Browne decided to focus only on seven—iron, carbon, gold, silver, uranium, titanium and silicon, convincingly demonstrating how each had its part in shaping human civilization, both for good and for ill. Iron, for instance, was indispensable in building machinery that powered the industrial revolution, but has also made possible the diverse and destructive weapons of war. Carbon, in the form of oil and coal, provides abundant energy but also accelerates global warming. Gold and silver have buttressed international economies while fostering greed and genocide, whereas uranium is essential both in nuclear power plants and in the world’s deadliest bombs. In his first foray into popular-science writing, Browne does an admirable job crafting an informative and engrossing chemistry-based view of history. --Carl Hays