bfesser
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Recreational Reading List
(If a similar thread already exists, I apologize. I couldn't find one.)
I was wondering if anyone has any interesting books to recommend relating to chemistry and science in general. I'm especially interested in the
history of science, and here are some books that I have read recently and would highly recommend. Some books aren't so much history of science as
just plain interesting.
In Alphabetical Order:
<ul type='circle'>
<li><em>Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold</em> - Tom Shachtman -- I checked it out from the library, but had to return it
before I got a chance to finish it. I plan to pick up a copy very soon, the intro was that good.</li>
<li><em>Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug</em> - Diarmuid Jeffreys</li>
<li><em>A Chemical History of a Candle</em> - Michael Faraday -- A series of lectures given by Michael Faraday... should be required
reading.</li>
<li><em>Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries</em> - Neil deGrasse Tyson</li>
<li><em>The God Delusion</em> - Richard Dawkins -- If you don't like this book being in my list, please don't let it turn you off to
the rest of the books. I promise you will still enjoy those.</li>
<li><em>Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World</em> - Simon Garfield -- Possibly my favorite book of the
list.</li>
<li><em>Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History</em> - Penny LeCouteur</li>
</ul>
Anyone have any recommendations?
[Edited on 2/6/08 by bfesser]
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The_Davster
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Radioactive Substances- Marie Curie, a reprint of her origional book, it is a great read.
Elements of Chemistry - Lavosier. My reprint has issues with many lowercase s showing up as an f, once you get through the spelling of
Phofphorus, it is a great read
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists - Robert Jungk- 1956- Very interesting insiders look at LANL in
the 40s.
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chemkid
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The Radioactive Boyscout- Not for it's factual content, or its technique but an interesting chapter of home chemistry
The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments- contains some interesting experiments and some rather hazardous ones. Another interesting chapter in home
chemistry; available online
Uncle Tungsten- a biography of Oliver Sacks growing up with chemistry
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gsd
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I have recently posted the thread : books by George Gamow :
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=9893
Very High recreational content in each of these books 
To the uninitiated I would recommend to start with 1,2,3........infinity.
This book is simply "unputdownable"
gsd
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bfesser
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I don't have access to that forum. Who should I ask about that?
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chemoleo
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You'll have to make a few more genuine posts showing interest in this site, rather than books, and you can ask a moderator for access.
Never Stop to Begin, and Never Begin to Stop...
Tolerance is good. But not with the intolerant! (Wilhelm Busch)
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CyrusGrey
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The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus by John Emsley
305 page book detailing the history of the element, for example: matchmaking, poisoning, firebombing of hamburg, phossy jaw, etc.
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bfesser
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['thred-rez']
Books I've read recently and recommend:
<ul><li><em><strong>Oppenheimer</strong>: Portrait of an Enigma</em> - Jeremy Bernstein</li>
<li><em><strong>Deadly Sunshine</strong>: The History and Fatal Legacy of Radium</em> - David I. Harvie</li>
<li><em><strong>The Alchemy of Air</strong>: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World
but Fueled the Rise of Hitler</em> - Thomas Hager</li>
<li><em><strong>Lavoisier in the Year One</strong>: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution</em> - Madison
Smartt Bell</li>
<li><em><strong>Alpha & Omega</strong>: The Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe</em> - Charles
Seife</li>
<li><em><strong>A Matter of Degrees</strong>: What Temperature Reveals About the Past and Future of Our Species, Planet, and
Universe</em> - Gino Segré</li>
<li><em><strong>Sun in a Bottle</strong>: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking</em> -
Charles Seife</li>
<li><em><strong>Quantum Physics for Poets</strong></em> - Leon M. Lederman & Christopher T.
Hill</li></ul>
Book(s) I've read recently and do not recommend:
<ul type="circle">
<li><em><strong>Fermat's Last Theorem</strong>: Unlocking the Secret of an Ancient Mathematical Problem</em> - Amir D.
Aczel
This book was alright. I'm sure there are better on the subject, though.</li>
<li><em><strong>Much Ado About (Practically) Nothing</strong>: A History of the Noble Gases</em> - David E. Fisher
Don't bother with this book! It's just 264 pages of Fisher masturbating his ego on paper. Very little to no content whatsoever about the actual
history of the noble gases. Plenty of history about the author, and everything he's ever thought, ate, had sex with, or experimented on.
<em>Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold</em> by Shachtman tells much more, even in passing, about the noble gases–and it's a
great book! This is <em>not</em> a great book. It's not even a decent book. Perhaps it would be an entertaining read if one were
breathing an atmosphere with low oxygen content and very very high helium content . . . but I sincerely doubt it. I'd rather spend a month in
Nebraska than read this book over again.</li></ul>
Would anyone like a positive review or commentary on any of the books I recommended? Too bad! Read them yourself or check the reviews on Amazon.
They're good books. You should read them. What else matters? 
[Edited on 3/8/12 by bfesser]
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jamit
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Quote: Originally posted by bfesser  | (If a similar thread already exists, I apologize. I couldn't find one.)
I was wondering if anyone has any interesting books to recommend relating to chemistry and science in general. I'm especially interested in the
history of science, and here are some books that I have read recently and would highly recommend. Some books aren't so much history of science as
just plain interesting.
In Alphabetical Order:
<ul type='circle'>
<li><em>Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold</em> - Tom Shachtman -- I checked it out from the library, but had to return it
before I got a chance to finish it. I plan to pick up a copy very soon, the intro was that good.</li>
<li><em>Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug</em> - Diarmuid Jeffreys</li>
<li><em>A Chemical History of a Candle</em> - Michael Faraday -- A series of lectures given by Michael Faraday... should be required
reading.</li>
<li><em>Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries</em> - Neil deGrasse Tyson</li>
<li><em>The God Delusion</em> - Richard Dawkins -- If you don't like this book being in my list, please don't let it turn you off to
the rest of the books. I promise you will still enjoy those.</li>
<li><em>Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World</em> - Simon Garfield -- Possibly my favorite book of the
list.</li>
<li><em>Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History</em> - Penny LeCouteur</li>
</ul>
Anyone have any recommendations?
[Edited on 2/6/08 by bfesser] |
The book by Dawkins is a joke. It is not science but nonetheless his attempt to use psedo-science to make fun of religious people. Just recently he
refused to debate William Craig at Oxford (oct 2011), a philosopher and theologian in the USA. Even his fellow atheists felt he should put up or
shut up.
Books I would recommend?
1. Godel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter
2. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) by Isaac Newton (1687)
3. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (1986) A beautifully crafted and definitive history examining the personalities and science behind
humanity's most destructive weapon.
These are all good reading, both informative and entertaining in the best sense!
Bfesser - I agree with you, the book on aspirin the wonder drug and Michael faraday's book are excellent.
[Edited on 8-3-2012 by jamit]
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Vogelzang
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http://sciliterature.50webs.com/4shared.htm
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Magpie
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I'd like to recommend:
1. Thomas Edison, Chemist, by Byron M. Vanderbilt
2. Alfred Nobel, by Kenne Fant
3. Poisoner's Handbook, by Deborah Blum
4. Jac. Berzelius, by J. Erik Jorpes
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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ScienceSquirrel
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If you can get hold of a copy, The Green Flame;
http://www.dequasiebooks.com/green.html
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BromicAcid
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Of course don't forget:
Excuse Me Sir, Would You Like to Buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide? by Max Gergel
The Ageless Gergel - Again by Max Gergel
Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants - John D. Clark
Adventures of a Chemist Collector - Alfred Bader
Further Adventures of a Chemist Collector - Alfred Bader
And I highly recommend The Green Flame. I had the pleasure of exchanging a series of e-mails with Mr. Dequasie regarding his book and life and he was
nice enough to sign my copy 
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Gearhead_Shem_Tov
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I want to thank you, Bromic, for suggesting this book. I read the whole thing in two sittings. Eye opening stuff!
-B
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Vogelzang
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Cantor, G.N. and M.J.S. Hodge, eds. Conceptions of Ether: Studies in the history of ether theories, 1740-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1981.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/CantorHodge.pdf
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/CantorHodge2.pdf
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/CantorHodge3.pdf
Schaffner, K. Nineteenth-Century Aether Theories. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1972.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/NineteenthCenturyAethe...
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/NineteenthCenturyAethe...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A history of the theories of aether and electricity : from the age of Descartes to the close of the nineteenth century (1910)
http://www.archive.org/details/historyoftheorie00whitrich
http://books.google.com/books?id=CGJDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=f...
Aether and matter: Larmor, Joseph,
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=p...
http://sciliterature.50webs.com/RelativityDebates.htm
[Edited on 28-5-2012 by Vogelzang]
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Vogelzang
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The Hydrodynamic Researches of Professor Bjerknes by Conrad W. Cooke
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/BjerknesHydrodynamic_S...
http://www.sciencemadness.org/scipics/BjerknesHydrodynamicEn...
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99chemicals
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I am suprised that no one mentioned
Silent Spring (Rachel Carson)
Slow Death by Rubber Duck (Rick Smith Bruce Lourie)
Slow Death by Rubber Duck actually exists
It is very informative and eye opening about all of the toxic chemicals we are exposed to without our consent or knowledge. Mind you this is
NOT written from the perspective of a chemophobe.
I would recommend it to anybody that I know.
Niether of these are really educational content but Slow Death by a Rubber Duck shows how ignorance on the part of chemical companies making chemicals
marketing them, then they realize that they are dangerous but keep going and trying to keep legislation from being passed against them.
In that book the authors expose themselves to commercial products purchased OTC and measure blood/urine levels of the chemical in question. Their
results for mercury BPA Phalates, triclosan,and BFRs is astounding!
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