How the World Works: Chemistry

by Anne Rooney (Artist)

This illustrated volume traces the major developments in chemistry and shows how it has driven civilization forward, from the smelting of metals, through alchemical experiments, to the creation of explosives, medicines and plastics.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2019

About the author

Anne Rooney gained a degree and then a PhD in medieval literature from Trinity College, Cambridge. After a period of teaching medieval English and French literature at the universities of Cambridge and York, she left to pursue a career as a freelance writer. She has written many books for adults and children on a variety of subjects, including literature and history. She lives in Cambridge and is Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Essex.

Reviews

[Caitlyn Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️

This book does a wonderful job of providing an overview of the history and development of the field of chemistry. I think that the information provided was engaging and accessible to the layperson. The visuals add a lot of interest to the work as well.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more on the history of chemistry instead of how actual chemical processes happen, which is not what I was expecting. Still a good read though.

[Reem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun colorful book, all history though as the name implies with little to no science (the author is a wonderful historian, not a scientist). A fair portion of the book was dedicated to alchemy as chemistry is traced back. Recommended to anyone interested in either chemistry or history.