From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Penny Le Couteur

Start date: January 1, 2016

Finish date: January 10, 2016

Discussion: 2016 Read Harder Challenge

Why we're reading this: My in-person book club is reading it as one of their selections and it seemed interesting to me. In short…more
[close] My in-person book club is reading it as one of their selections and it seemed interesting to me. In short, it is chemistry + history. More specifically, how particular molecules and people's desire for them, affected world events and more.

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What Members Thought

Mar 26, 2008 Rae rated it really liked it

Shelves: math-and-sciences

Napoleon's buttons were made of tin, which, in very cold temperatures (like a hard Russian winter) crumbles into dust. French soldiers with no or open uniforms (because the buttons were all gone) contributed to the loss of the Army's battles in Russia.

This is a very readable, entertaining and educational book. The molecules included are pepper, nutmeg and cloves, ascorbic acid, glucose, cellulose, nitro compounds, silk and nylon, phenol, isoprene, dyes, wonder drugs, the Pill, molecules of witch ...more

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