Napoleon's Buttons
Subtitle: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Publisher: Tarcher
Published: April 24, 2003
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9781585422203
Subjects: World history; Philosophy & Social Aspects; General; Science; History: World; Popular works; Chemistry - General; Science / History; Chemistry; History
First sentence: CHRISTOS E ESPICIARIAS!-for Christ and spices-was the jubilant cry from Vasco da Gama's sailors as, in May 1498, they approached India and the goal of gaining untold wealth from spices that for centuries had been the monopoly of the merchants of Venice.
Description: Describes seventeen chemical compounds in spices, textile fibers, dyes, explosives, medicines, and other substances--including the drugs that account for witches flying on broomsticks--and how they affect civilization.