Jerry Stratton

I play like a child among the bones of it, finding a fine stone here, a broken plate there, hoping that one day I’ll find a key to the mystery of it, the beginning of an answer…

I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

You don’t need to be a scientist to grasp these and many other complex ideas, because The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry explains them all: the histor

You don’t need to be a scientist to grasp these and many other complex ideas, because The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry explains them all: the history and basics of chemistry, atomic theory, combustion, solubility, reaction stoichiometry, the mole, entropy, and much more—all explained in simple, clear, and yes, funny illustrations. Chemistry will never be the same!

CH₂O(s) + O₂(g) → CO₂(g)↑ + H₂O(g)↑

This, by the way, is an example of a principle called Hess’s Law: Enthalpy change depends only on the beginning and end states, not on anything in between. If a reaction has intermediate stages, then ΔH is the sum of the intermediate enthalpy changes.

Leek and potato soup will always be a standard at my house.

Leek and potato soup will always be a standard at my house.

With the director counting down the seconds till we were on air, we pushed the loose piece of flesh back over the cut. Julia hastily wrapped her bloody hand in a towel and proclaimed herself fine.

Make a syrup of sugar and a little water, using one pound of sugar to four pounds of peaches. Boil until, when you dip two fingers into it, they will stick together.

In the early 1960s, the term foodie had yet to be coined. There were no culinary institutes, few cooking schools, no celebrity chefs. The country supported only one small-circulation food magazine, Gourmet. The New York Times and other prominent newspapers had yet to break out special sections dedicated to cooking and dining. Not only was there no Food Network—no food programming existed anywhere on TV.

One of the most important things my students have taught me is the difference between a home cook and a professional. It’s a distinction many chefs fail to make, which accounts for the large number of beautiful cookbooks that are impossible to use.