Molecules at an Exhibition Intriguing Molecules in Everyday Life

by John Emsley

Reading Molecules at an Exhibition is like listening to a charmingly eccentric British chemistry professor lecture over lunch. In fact, that's just what John Emsley is, and he's expanded his "Molecule of the Month" column series in the Independent into this gallery of molecular portraits, organized into loose themes such as "Testing Your Metal" and "Elements from Hell." He informs us about his favorite molecules through droll anecdotes and basic chemistry. Throughout the book, Emsley exhibits a reverence for industrially useful chemicals that comes across as a grumpy rejoinder to "Quit griping.... A little plastic wrap won't hurt you!" Not that he ignores the dangers of some molecules; in fact, he gleefully reports the tiny doses of things such as the nerve gas sarin sufficient to kill you. Other compounds are the subject of Emsley's genuine For those who still have to live in shacks of corrugated iron and plywood, a temporary answer is to spray the building with polyurethane, which makes them livable in [sic] by keeping out insects and the heat of the Sun, and making them soundproof.... Nor will the investment be wasted when people are they can cut the polyurethane into panels with a knife and use it as insulation in their new new [sic] home. While Molecules sometimes reads like a paean to the green revolution (which we now know has been responsible for bioaccumulation of carcinogenic pesticides in food webs and the appearance of chemical-resistant insect pests), Emsley does make a strong point for efficient recycling and reuse of the plastics and chemicals we produce in such staggering quantities. And one can forgive him his enthusiasm for technological developments in chemistry. After all, chemicals really are amazing, and it's rewardingly fun to find out how they fit into our diets, our biochemistry, and our daily lives, especially when the education is hidden in fact-filled essays suitable for party entertaining. --Therese Littleton

Genres: Science, Chemistry, Nonfiction, Popular Science, Stem, History Of Science, Science Nature

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Popular science writer and chemist

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out fascinating, but started to wear on me. Basically, it’s a ‘gallery’ of various molecules that are important in one way or another to human life. There are nutrients we require, poisons that kill us, fuels we use, things that make useful objects, etc, etc. It’s possibly better just being dipped into than read cover to cover; I certainly got tired of all the fuels and the relatively similar titbits about some of the elements. It’s not bad, but it didn’t keep me very interested either.

I’m hoping his book specifically on poisons is more up my street…

Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.

[Elsbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love this book read one molecule at a time but gosh it’s wearing cover-to-cover. Accessible but perhaps too superficial for scientists.

[Eddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting but I would have preferred some structural formulae. Also the author is a bit of a fan boy of all chemicals, even DDT, which is a bit wearing. Though he has a downer on Plutonium. A book to be read in small chunks over a period of time or it gets a bit samey.

[Waylaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite science books, and, of all things, it's a chemistry book!

This book covers a huge number of molecules, and Emsley is a wonderful writer. For instance, after discussing nicotine, he considers epibatidine: "At first glance, the scientific paper entitled 'Epibatidine: a novel (chloropyridyl)-azabicycloheptane with potent analgesic activity from an Ecuadorean poison frog' looks mildly interesting." "They also showed it [epibatidine] was two hundred times stronger than morphine, and they were able to demonstrate this using the hot plate test. In this rather primitive test a rat is given the painkiller and dropped on to an electrically heated plate. Normally the rat would immediately leap into the air, but those which had been given a dose of only 5mcg of epibatidine just stood there and waited". "In fact it turned out that epibatidine was targeting the nicotine receptors. Nicotine and epibatidine molecules have very similar shapes, the difference being that epibatidine binds more strongly." (And thus one can understand the attraction of nicotine, as a relaxant.)

The book is full of these types of interesting examples carried along by Emsley's dry wit. A book I love having in my satchel, to be dipped into during travels. But it would be hard to read cover to cover.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each portrait is really a short section within a larger chapter on a particular theme. This book is very layperson friendly because it doesn't use chemical formulas very often and it doesn't go into as much detail as some of his other books. Great information though and a very fun occasional read.

[Rylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give “Molecules at an Exhibition” by John Emsley a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. I liked how this book didn’t just explain the chemistry behind how everyday molecules work, it gave the history and interesting facts about the molecules. One example of this was the section about the molecule atropine. It began with a story about someone who attempted to murder their wife by poisoning her with atropine. This hooked me because it gave me more than just the chemistry of how atropine works. Something else I liked was that the book could be understood by anyone. You don’t need much previous knowledge to understand the book. The book doesn’t go into too much detail with too many complicated words. One thing I didn’t like was how repetitive the book became. At first, it was interesting because it was fun to learn about these molecules, but then it started to become repetitive. Everything was structured the same. It started with some story or fact or history behind the molecule, and then it explained how the molecule worked with numerical data about the molecule. I believe that this book is not good to read cover to cover. It feels more like a reference book that you can read when you are curious about a molecule. This was especially true in gallery 2 which was about metals, and gallery 5 which was about polymers, as these sections felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. Something else I didn’t like was that it was outdated. This book was published in 1998, and it was obvious. There was outdated and/or incomplete information. For example, in the section about lead, it mentioned how lead can poison you. But, because it hadn’t happened yet, there was nothing about the Flint water crisis in 2014 which would have been very informative if it had been added. This is not the author’s fault, but it may be better to read a more recently published book to have the most recent information available to learn about our everyday molecules. Based on all of these reasons, I would have to give “Molecules at an Exhibition” 3 out of 5 stars.

[Alastair Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emsley takes a neutral scientific view, in this late 20C tome, in which the chemicals are observed unadorned by politics or human judgement. This position is a challenge for him, especially when the naturally occuring chemicals are manufactured to improve supply, or invented, such as Teflon, because although he quotes his sources, we know now that scientists have been in the pay of industry, not just to invent, but also to find safe. Plastic is described as recyclable, but we know now most of it is dumped. The problem of the different additives to make the different polymers increasingly perfect at their specific jobs of tactility, stiffness or suppleness means they're impure. Incineration is described as good, because it generates heat for electricity thus saving fossil fuels, but no mention is made of toxic gasses. Is science a set of incontrovertible truths established by the infallible scientific method? Or is it a cultural construct with elements of bias, such as gender, commerce and ethnicity? The author would undoubtedly say the former, but his lack of willingness to entertain the latter points to a blindness. When he explains the title, for example, he doesn't point to Mussourky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' from which surely the title is taken and to which it alludes, although to be fair often the publisher chooses the title.
So how successful is Emsley? Very. This is one of those brilliant non fiction books in which each sentence contains a new fact. It is so dense and wide ranging, line by line, that it makes a fascinating read. Just remember to read between the lines too.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally an informative read. The content is dated as the book was published around the year 2000. It is quite difficult to read back to back as it is just a collection of different molecules loosely based around themes. You are bombarded with mundane facts regarding the volume of each compound produced each year and how many ppm (parts per million) exist within the atmosphere. It’s informative but a dry read. Definitely a book that you dip into from time to time instead of reading for long stretches. The statistics in the book all meld into one and nothing really seems notable when you read about the yield rates of yet another chemical.

[Jessica Del Gaizo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un saggio di divulgazione scientifica fruibile anche da chi non mastica la materia trattata. L'autore, a differenza di altri, non da per scontato neanche il più basilare dei concetti che costituiscono la chimica.
Un volume ricco di aneddoti spesso curiosi, con i suoi alti e bassi a seconda dell'interesse che il lettore ha, che affronta in maniera neutrale una materia demonizzata dai più, ma con la quale, in realtà, abbiamo a che fare tutti i giorni, a partire da noi stessi.

[aru (arya) · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book rlly love it

[Raksha Bhat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book by happenstance, since I realized I haven't had my dose of non fiction for a while I started reading it. The author in an interesting way has put up galleries with portraits of different molecules that makes earth the planet it is. I was looking at things around me with a total chemistry view all the while I was reading this. Most of the trivia felt like food for thought but at places there were definitely too many things on my plate, information beyond my understanding of the subject. This was probably because the snippets were primarily written for newspaper columns targeting a different set of audience. Although I am glad that I got to know something new from the book I am particularly not happy with the extreme detailing. From caffeine to copper to carbon monoxide to celluloid to carbon to cadmium, this one is nothing short of a chemistry textbook, of course with all the history.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this kind of book--interesting and informative, but not 'brainy.' I have noticed that a few of the facts and studies cited are a bit out of date, as the book was published in 1998.I learned a lot of new info, like how airbags work. And I found the section on molecules in food and the one on plastics to be very interesting stuff.

CMB

[Aswin]

bought the kindle version for $8.99 from amazon. thanks to @Srinivasan R sir for the recommendation. As an organic chemist, I am a little disappointed that there are no structures depicted n the book to follow.

[Havala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives an interesting historical account of certain molecules and list of uses in medicine or industry. Borderlines promotion of CAM in my opinion. But I've just begun reading.

[Paula Sobral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and fun to read

[Scott]

fun book.

[Laocharles XIE · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny, and it re-inspired my interest in Chemistry....well, I can't say 'reinspired', because I'm always interested in Chemistry, just not ready to pick it up.

[Elio Nakouzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are not many good chemistry for general audience books but this is one of them.
Not the best writers, but the book is exactly what it sells itself to be.
Enjoyed it.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and sometimes surprising, but not especially exciting.