May 15, 2003
The anecdote of the titular buttons is related in the introduction: supposedly, the tin buttons on the uniforms of Napoleon's army became brittle and disintegrated in the cold Russian winter, contributing to his defeat. Le Couteur, a chemistry teacher, and Burreson, an industrial chemist, expand this theme to explore how chemical properties of compounds have altered history. The impacts run the gamut from medicine (e.g., penicillin, vitamin C) to social change (e.g., the contraceptive pill and slavery perpetuated by the farming of glucose, or sugar cane, and cellulose, or cotton) to more direct historical incidents such as the Opium Wars or the spice trade spurring New World exploration. The authors violate the dictate of modern popular science writing that proscribes including chemical formulae but to good effect-by showing the structures of the compounds, they convey how shapes affect function. This book devotes more space to fewer substances than John Emsley's Molecules at an Exhibition, but it doesn't fall into the hyperbolic monomania of other popular "chemicals-that-changed-the-world" books like Simon Garfield's Mauve. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Libs.
Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2003
Women who use birth control pills probably care more about their effectiveness than about how they actually work, and although ignorance here may be bliss, it also cheats one of a good science story, involving a driven chemist making a serendipitous discovery about cortisone. Le Couteur and Burreson roll out 17 episodes selected for their salience in affecting health as well as history at large. This pair of chemists doesn't overinterpret a particular chemical as a historical influence but makes speculating on, say, piperene, a sporting diversion. Piperene is the molecule that causes taste buds to sting from pepper. Venice had a monopoly on the pepper trade, which rivals wished to break, motivating the voyages of discovery. Although connections frame the authors' tales (the title refers to tin buttons, which contributed to Napoleon's defeat in Russia), each story dwells on its molecular protagonist. The authors diagram the formula and shape of each, from the polymer behind the sheen in silk to the ionic bonds in the taste of salt. Well-conceived, well-done popular science.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)