The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #456

by William H. Brock

From man's first exploration of natural materials and their transformations to today's materials science, chemistry has always been the central discipline that underpins both the physical and biological sciences, as well as technology.

In this Very Short Introduction, William H. Brock traces the unique appeal of this fundamental science throughout history. Covering alchemy, early-modern chemistry, pneumatic chemistry and Lavoisier's re-interpretation of chemical change, the rise of organic and physical chemistry, and the transforming power of synthesis, Brock explores the extraordinary and often puzzling transformations of natural and artificial materials, as well as the men and women who experimented, speculated, and explained matter and change.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, History, Chemistry, Nonfiction, Physics

151 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

William Hodson Brock was a British chemist and science historian.

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically I didn't finish reading this book: it is due back at the library and on hold for someone and I'm sure they will appreciate it more anyway. Plus, I read as much of it as I wanted to. Found this as a new book coming in to the system, and decided to read it because I goodly portion of the beginning is about alchemy, and then about the transition of alchemy into chemistry, and that seemed interesting. And it was. It gave me some good ideas for how to adapt ideas about alchemy into possible story or gaming uses. There wasn't a particular point where I gave up; it just became more and more involved in technical details that I didn't really grasp (I last studied chemistry something like 17 or 18 years ago) and though it kept my interest for a time, it stopped feeling relevant for me.

(Update) Leaving this book unfinished nagged at me, so I decided to actually read it. Looking back on my comments from before, I rather wish I hadn't. Overall, I have to give it 2 stars (downgrading from 3 when I was focused only on the intro) since it becomes very technical later on; it references ideas important to chemistry, but often doesn't fully explain their import. It is more like a history written for chemists than a history for a general reader. I can't help but think about one of the best books in this series that I have read, Fungi: A Very Short Introduction, which did an excellent job of balancing technical terms with accessibility. This book failed to live up to that standard.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading several of the "Very Short Introduction" books in the areas of biology (bacteria, fungi, microbiology) and chemistry (this one, and one on crystallography) and so far I have liked them. They have been - so far, and relatively - gentle and accessible introductions into some fields which have very complex and convoluted backstories. What I liked about this text was providing important information about the context of chemistry's evolution. I liked the movement from alchemy to chemistry - this text dealt with the movement in a very clean way. The most important lesson here, was that chemistry's revolution was only in part motivated by the idiosyncratic, obsessive, and unique minds whose work lead to advances in the field. The prime mover was the economic benefits of chemistry. As you read the text, you find that many brilliant figures were smothered, pushed to the background, ignored, or even outright dismissed (and this is common across all fields of study, almost universally). The economic and financial motivations paved the way for the idiosyncratic minds to have the path to flourish (maybe not in every instance, but as a general background force). It was only when those economic benefits were recognized that chemistry moved to become one of the dominant sciences. That is something that cannot be forgotten.

[Christopher Fuchs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that condenses an impressive amount of material, from the earliest days of philosophical speculations on the nature of matter, to alchemy, and later nanoscience. The author demonstrates clearly how chemistry evolved through international study and collaboration before the world wars, then how post-war chemical industries were consolidated to form massive corporations. The author also shows how chemistry forms the bedrock for a growing number of individual and interdisciplinary subjects. An informative book that was also very inspiring for my own writing about alchemy as a novelist.

[Shane Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good general overview: comprehensive if brief

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clear and concise summary of the history of chemistry. A good distilling (pun intended) of the important bits.

[Mykyta Kuzmenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очень толковая книженция. Кратко и довольно много проясняет и приводит в порядок. Рекомендую. Мне такой стиль как тут нравится.

[Andrew Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compact survey of the ... well ... history of chemistry. Non-technical, although much obsolete terminology is used and sometimes not explained, and it had me searching Wikipedia often.

[John Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice introduction to the history of chemistry. Most of the book is about alchemy, I would have preferred more of it to be in the more modern era of chemistry.

[Roger]

Solid, well written and not over-technical. Dealt well with the transition from alchemy (chymists) to chemistry. Would have liked a bit more focus on the lives/quirks of the key personalities.

[Charles Aldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great extension of what I have learnt in A-level Chemistry, learning about the origins of what we now know as fact was fantastic.