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Sun Chemist
'Beyond question the book of the year.' Spectator
Chaim Weizmann was a great man, one of the founders of modern Israel. He was also a chemist of international repute. His work in the thirties led him to a cheap way of synthesising oil. But politics took over and it seemed Weizmann had died without passing on his revolutionary knowledge.
In the oil-starved seventies, it falls to Igor Druyanov to reconstruct that magic formula. And the chase is on, for the news will overturn the Middle East . . .
Tense, intelligent and stylish, The Sun Chemist is gripping spy thriller from a true master of the genre.
Chaim Weizmann was a great man, one of the founders of modern Israel. He was also a chemist of international repute. His work in the thirties led him to a cheap way of synthesising oil. But politics took over and it seemed Weizmann had died without passing on his revolutionary knowledge.
In the oil-starved seventies, it falls to Igor Druyanov to reconstruct that magic formula. And the chase is on, for the news will overturn the Middle East . . .
Tense, intelligent and stylish, The Sun Chemist is gripping spy thriller from a true master of the genre.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
7 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Lionel Davidson
45 books89 followersAka David Line
Lionel Davidson was a three-times winner of the Gold Dagger Award (for The Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shilo and The Chelsea Murders). His thrillers and adventure novels have won him enormous international acclaim. He also wrote children's books under the name of David Line.
See also Obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[this reference added 12-Aug-2013].
Lionel Davidson was a three-times winner of the Gold Dagger Award (for The Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shilo and The Chelsea Murders). His thrillers and adventure novels have won him enormous international acclaim. He also wrote children's books under the name of David Line.
See also Obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu...
[this reference added 12-Aug-2013].
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 8, 2018
An espionage novel set in the 1970s, all about Israel, oil, and a chemical process the might replace oil with potato starch as an energy source.
A confusing book that starts off with not giving the reader enough information to keep up, proceeds in likewise fashion, and ends with a twist that's hard to follow. Yet I enjoyed it. It's about tracking down history, scientific research, and old friends--tying the personal to grander things. That it doesn't always make sense seemed appropriate. It felt like trying to do geneological research using old research papers. I think ferreting out information is a pleasure for some people, and I'm one of them. If you feel that way aa well, I recommend this. If not, pass by.
A confusing book that starts off with not giving the reader enough information to keep up, proceeds in likewise fashion, and ends with a twist that's hard to follow. Yet I enjoyed it. It's about tracking down history, scientific research, and old friends--tying the personal to grander things. That it doesn't always make sense seemed appropriate. It felt like trying to do geneological research using old research papers. I think ferreting out information is a pleasure for some people, and I'm one of them. If you feel that way aa well, I recommend this. If not, pass by.
June 30, 2024
3 1/2
Want to read
January 6, 2019Synopsis: Chaim Weizmann, as an Israeli chemist, synthesized oil. The formula was lost. Igor Druyanov is rebuilding it amid much danger.
February 23, 2011
Good story but it's taken a while to work out what it is about.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews