Come si sbriciola un biscotto?

by Joe Schwarcz, Libero Sosio (Translator)

Perché i cibi più buoni sono anche quelli meno sani? Come cucinare uno stufato delizioso? È vero che l’avena è molto efficace contro il colesterolo? Quali sono i migliori tegami antiaderenti? Quali virtù anche medicinali hanno la polenta, gli spinaci, il peperoncino, la vitamina C, i cavoli? A queste e a molte altre domande curiose Joe Schwarcz risponde guidando il lettore alla comprensione della chimica e delle sue leggi a partire da esperienze della vita quotidiana.
Inoltre interviene responsabilmente su temi caldi come i cibi geneticamente modificati: perché rinunciare a produrne, così da risolvere i problemi nutrizionali e di salute in un mondo in cui milioni di persone muoiono di fame ogni giorno? Schwarcz ci ragguaglia inoltre su invenzioni che hanno fatto epoca, dal nailon, usato per le calze da donna ma anche per i paracadute, ai polimeri, che tanta importanza hanno avuto per quanto riguarda la plastica, le resine e le fibre tessili. E ci insegna a valutare pregi e difetti di sostanze vecchie e nuove col vecchio principio, sempre valido, del rapporto fra rischi e benefici.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Chemistry, School

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Dr. Joe Schwarcz holds a PhD in chemistry and is host of the radio program The Dr. Joe Show, directo of McGill University's Office for Science & Society and the author of fourteen bestselling books. Well known for his informative and entertaining lectures, Dr. Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching and deciphering science for the public.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book for people who do not have any background in science and are after some interesting pills of information.

I will definitely be more careful about science books.

I got very angry with the cavalier attitude of the author towards the facts of science that are not well known, I am in the area of sciences myself and tend to read a lot of research, he doesn't seem to understand the difference of correlation and regression, he talks about studies poorly referencing and above all he assumes that not-proven-to-be-dangerous yet=safe for consumer. It made me very upset for he is spreading more ignorance by giving assurances that he could not guarantee, if I was more ignorant I might take his advice. I found specially disturbing the fact that he refers to genetically modified and genetically selected as if they were the same thing, when they are different. He also disregards unproven worries as if they were silly when we all know of many traditional advices that only found backing of science after decades (we also all know of some traditional advice that was just silly and also took decades to be disproven). I wish he would me more cautious.


I believe this book promotes disinformation.

[Tittirossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante, ma al tempo stesso troppo frammentario e aneddotico. E' una raccolta di articoli già pubblicati, e quindi la fruizione primaria era stata pensata diversamente.

Ho imparato moltissime cose, dallo smacchiare macchie di erba o ragù, al proteggermi dai fulmini, alla composizione dello sciroppo di glucosio-fruttosio, ma la cosa più memorabile non è legata a una nozione chimica, bensì sull'importanza della letteratura.

Il giovane Faraday (un tipo a cui dobbiamo moltissimo, se riusciamo ad accendere una lampadina lo dobbiamo a lui), che lavorava come apprendista da un rilegatore di libri, si ritrovò a rilegare un volume dell'Encyclopedie e si mise a leggere la voce sull'elettricità e tadààààà, si appassionò allo studio dell'elettromagnetismo e poi fu tutta una scoperta.

[Valeria Verdugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book in general was interesting though it became boring at times. It is technically built up of many short 'story essays' about chemistry and science. Personally I would say that my favorite part was about why Popeye eats his spinach. This made me want to eat my spinach more since it would help with my memory, I guess Popeye was strong for that reason too. Schwarz explains in almost every section how chemistry is used in our daily lives and I liked how he described these things in such simple terms. Each section is fairly short as well and it held my attention for longer than I anticipated. The topics changed fast and I enjoyed that since it kept me more entertained. The author also debunked many products that are advertised in the media and explains why they work or do not work. Though the short essay format of the book is interesting, it is not something that I am used to nor have seen before.

[Anna Stegeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, full of weird facts and interesting anomalies. Schwarcz explored the science behind everyday items like oats, gluten, bananas, synthesized sugar substitutes, quack medicine, spiders, stains, and more. I didn't agree with everything he said, but it was an amusing book about the chemistry of things we usually overlook as ordinary.

[Filippo Ulivieri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una serie raffazzonata di aneddoti, quando più quando meno (spesso meno) divertenti. Procede per accumulo e viene subito a noia. La quarta di copertina illude.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's only taken me a bit over two years to read this book. That's okay. It's a book of essays after all, and I'm going to admit to a terrible sin. It has spent most of those two years being a "bathroom book". Something that I can pick up if I'm going to be more than a minute or two, where I can read an essay, or a couple of essays, based on topics I find interesting.

The book was given to me by a friend from my university days when we were both studying chemistry. It was a lovely present and I often thought of him while reading it. Happily, he gave me another book of chemistry essays by the same author the following birthday or Christmas (I don't remember which). That immediately replaced this one and I've read the introduction and the first essay. Hopefully it won't take me two years this time.

[Arliegh Kovacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was easy to understand, even if you aren't a chemistry buff. The author uses chemicals' names but doesn't expect you to be able to put together a model of the elements involved. He explains how many things were discovered that has relevance in daily life. He keeps the sections short so you don't get bored or bogged down with technical details and he's amusing. Many of the sections are told with humor. He also debunks the 'medicine show' products that are often advertised in newspapers, magazines, and infomercials.
I would recommend this book..

[Andrea Benecchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro carino pieno di aneddoti legati al mondo della scienza e in particolare della chimica. Piacevole lettura anche se ovviamente ormai un po' datato. Fa riflettere come quello che ora è nei libri scolastici quasi un ovvietà (pensate ai processi di ossidazione etc), sono spesso state scoperte casuali e soggetto di pura sperimentazione a tentativi. Ovviamente anche rispetto alle proprietà dei materiali così prodotti. Negli ultimi capitoli/episodi l'autore torna a parlare di varie truffe pseudoscientifiche, ma devo dire che mi ero un po' stancato.

[Camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho sempre odiato la chimica a scuola, semplicemente perché non l’ho mai capita e nessuno ha tentato di farmi appassionare o il mio cervello non ci arrivava.
Ho ritrovato questo libro ormai un po’ datato nella libreria della mia cameretta..quindi qualcuno aveva provato a farmela apprezzare! Tempistiche di pubblicazione e liceo coincidono. Quanti ricordi, quanti voti orrendi e quanti pomeriggi a fissare formule che non mi restavano mai in testa. Adesso, 20 anni dopo, sono contenta di scoprire delle chicchette e vedere che tutto è chimica. Aiuto.

[Alessandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lettura divertente per gli amanti della materia; le spiegazioni sono chiare e non troppo approfondite, in modo da conferire una certa fluidità al racconto e una fruibilità maggiore. Molti aneddoti divertenti anche se a volte, forse, l'autore divaga un po' troppo. Se però non avete pretese specifiche ma semplicemente di curiosità è un libro che fa per voi.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehhh. . . such a clever title but not the engaging book I had hoped it would be

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like science or chemistry factoid short stories read this book. It's a gem.

[Dagnija · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh meh and science puns!

[Diego Tonini · Rating 3 out of 5]

è più che altro una raccolta di aneddoti divertenti con un fondo scientifico

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun take on some serious science.

[Daniel Laufer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun exploration into food science. Very interesting!

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle says it all: fascinating! I love food and this was a lot of fun. The author is funny, too.

[Marme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raccolta di pillole di curiosità.
Alcune superrr, altre noiosette.
Valutazione più veritiera: 3,75 ⭐️

[Cara W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Joe - Joe Schwarcz has a radio show that is run as a podcast. Dr. Joe works at McGill University in Montreal (he's from Hungary). Dr. Joe is a Chemistry Professor and the Director of the Office for Science and Society at McGill. He has also written a few books.

He writes essays on Chemistry of Everyday life in this book. Including explaining how a cookie crumbles.

He talks about various health related topics, dispelling some junk science and science misunderstandings. There's no table of contents but there was a broad swath of topics.

Very enjoyable. Will have to look up his other books.

[Helgi Hróðmarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a chemist writes a book with this title, you know he is going to explain to you in chemical terms, exactly, how the cookie crumbles. Dr. Joe Schwarcz, renowned science promoter and professor at McGill University in Montreal, has decades worth of experience dealing with the public, enshrouded by misinformation to varying degrees of hilarity. Some of the most outrageous claims (presented in this book) include: “this energy breaks large water molecules into smaller ones, releasing trapped toxins in the process.” The dybbuk of hogwash and balderdash spares no uninformed soul.

The book itself is like a collection of short stories, divided into four categories: Healthy Science, Everyday Science, Looking Back, and Poppycock. These categories pretty much speak for themselves; the chemistry of food, the chemistry of households appliances, historical chemistry and demystifying the bullshit of mountebanks who make fortunes of those they manage to maliciously misinform.

The short stories offered in this book make good sense as they all tackle subjects that hit close to home. These include microwaves, oatmeal, sweeteners, ice cream, spinach, GMOs, alcohol, nerve gas, well you get the picture; everyday stuff. The anecdotes and bits of history in each chapter are mesmerizing and make it a difficult task putting the book down. If I had to choose a favorite it would be in the chapter concerning the bacterial flora of our intestines. To cure a case of severe diarrhea, Dr. Lawrence Brandt of the Montefiore Medical Center in New York, mixed stool samples from the patients husband in saline and deposited them at 10 cm intervals along the patients colon. This restored the microflora in the patients gut and she was cured. Seriously… this happened… in real life… seriously…yes.

If I had to complain about anything in the book, I’d say that some of the subjects felt more skidded through than others. The chapter about Fritz Haber, the father of gas warfare and mass production of crop fertilizer, is a mere 3-4 pages and his complex and malcontent relationship with his first wife is summarized in only one sentence. But again, if this is to be a collection of short accounts, then delving too deep can land you in… well deep.

The chapters in ‘Looking back’ and ‘Poppycock’ could all have been longer and more numerous. But as it stands, The Way the Cookie Crumbles is a delightful and informative read. Dr. Schwarcz tells it like it is, whether the subject is light at heart or as weighty as death. As a science educator myself, I will have to browse through this book several times more to help me remember all the funny anecdotes, like Dr. Kellogg’s yogurt colonoscopies, the discovery of phosphorous by the inspection of dried up urine, and more.

https://cosmicchemist.wordpress.com/2...

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 all-new commentaries on the fascinating chemistry of everyday life by Dr. Joe Schwarcz, I have found chemistry to be a more appealing subject to study. Schwarcz expertly incorporates humor, relevant anecdotes and fun facts in his essays to explain the chemistry behind things such as arsenic and diseases. Even though this book was written in 2002, his voice is so fresh it seems like he wrote the book yesterday, and the information is still relevant today. This reading level is very appropriate for a mature level. I think all levels of students in high school could enjoy these essays. Non-science folks would be able to understand and enjoy this reading because the author Schwarcz incorporates history and pop culture references to his essays as well as science. I recommend this reading to all students in middle school and beyond. I would not recommend this reading to kids below middle school level because Schwarcz writes in a very mature way that requires focus skills that younger kids would struggle with. Science and non-science people with a broad number of interests can enjoy this book because each essay is a different topic. This allows for many readers with different interests to enjoy his writing.I thought the most interesting thing I learned from this reading was that an increased folic acid intake could reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is interesting because my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease and this information could possibly help my fellow family members and I to avoid getting it as well. Now I will encourage my family to eat more spinach and drink more orange juice. I learned this information from the essay “Lessons From Popeye”. I encourage others to share in this beneficial knowledge by reading this wonderful book, That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 all-new commentaries on the fascinating chemistry of everyday life by the intelligent author Dr. Joe Schwarcz.

[Bookworm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh. Unimpressive collection of essays. This book was mentioned somewhere recently and it caught my eye. I liked the idea of having some explanations of various everyday objects and items. As the sciences are not my strong suit it seemed like this would be a good read.
 
It wasn't. Essay collections are almost never my thing and that held here. I didn't care for the author's writing style and now I have my doubts after reading some of the critical reviews that make me question how accurate the information is. There are no references (although there is an index) and so it just seems a bit suspect.
 
This genre (everyday science explainers) has much better examples that are more readable, have references, etc. I'd skip this one.

[S.T. White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly a good writer, however, clearly a book for people with very little scientific knowledge, and doesn’t hold up very well time-wise. This book is rather old now, and as is the nature of science, it has changed significantly, and thus this is quite an outdated read. Furthermore, I felt the layout could’ve been improved as this very bite-sized chapters about “science” across the board didn’t lend well in terms of providing any depth, rather a little knowledge about everything which ultimately means nothing. If you’re just looking for some useless facts to tell your friends, then maybe this would be a good read, but for anything else, I’m afraid it doesn’t really hold against the rest of time.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, clean non-fiction book to read, and a great book to read in bits and pieces if you just have a few minutes to read at a time. Basically it's a bunch of short commentaries on how chemistry affects our lives. There are vignettes of chemistry history, like the history of soap and detergents...how they work and how they have been modified due to environmental affects, the history of various food items (Did you know hot dogs were originally sold to eat with gloves instead of a bun, and that peanut butter was first made for people who were unable to chew pieces of meat?). There was also information on inventors and magicians. I learned a lot!

[Keats Snideman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just recently re-read parts of this book to help me get excited about a chemistry class I just finished this spring (2013). I need the General Chem to get into Physical Therapy school and although I love science, the way the material is taught is so dry and boring to me. Enter Dr. Joe Schwartz' books! The Way The Cookie Crumbles and the other 2 books I have of his give practical, funny, and witty anecdotes to the chemistry of everyday living. It helps apply chemistry to everyday life and includes topics such which supplements are bogus or helpful, how to remove stains from clothes, and what type of cookware to use. I really enjoy his books and highly recommend them!

[Neil Crocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in he way everday things work, this is a fun read. Schwarcz is a Prof and McGill University in Montreal and a radio personality. He likes to explain how things work, particularly if chemistry is involved. Some of the best articles in this book are about artificial sweeteners, bagesl, ice cream, soft drinks, Vitamin D, HGH and others. Of the 62 articles, probably half were pretty enlightening. A good read.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro divulgativo sulla chimica che ci circonda ogni giorno. Discorsivo, molto semplice. La troppa semplicità, unita allo scarso rigore scientifico, ne fa un libro carino ma sicuramente non necessario. Un po' di dettagli in più non avrebbero di sicuro fatto male. Molto meglio I bottoni di Napoleone di Penny Le Couteur e Jay Burreson.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles is a series of short essays explaining the chemistry behind ordinary things in life.

I picked this up at my in-laws' house because I had finished my other book more icily than anticipated. I found this book to be both interesting and, at times, a little overwhelming with certain explanations which, to me, were a little too technical.

[LyL3_Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

interessante, ricco di aneddoti storici e scientifici esposti in maniera comprensibile e simpatica. Ma... troppo aneddotico. Non vien dato molto spazio all'approfondimento, è da prendere un po' per fede. Molta carne al fuoco poco approfondita.

[Kamilla Marschner · Rating 5 out of 5]

very helpful story telling for chemistry/science teachers