This is not an ordinary book: it's a BookCrossing book! BookCrossing books are world travelers - they like to have adventures and make new friends...and every once in a while they even write home to say what they've been doing.

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Trade paperback from the Friends of the Library: I finally got around to reading it, thanks in part to an e-book version borrowed from the library. (Larger photo here - after following link, click on image to zoom.)

The authors cheat a bit, since many of the "molecules" are types of molecules rather than specific compounds, but it's an interesting look at a lot of stuff most of us don't spend a lot of time thinking about as things (dyes, sugars, antibiotics, hallucinogens, spices) - we tend to focus more on the things they do.

In this book the authors look at the molecular structures, history, and cultural effects of all sorts of things: they're both chemists, so it can get a bit science-y in spots, but I managed even though organic chemistry was not my friend. :p

I do love the button theory of why Napoleon's invasion of Russia failed...

Thursday, June 8, 2017: headed out in the always-interesting Biographies of Things box.

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I'm so glad you've found this book!

Please take a moment to make a journal entry and let this book's previous readers know that it's safe with you.

How and where did you find the book? What did you think of it? What are you going to do with it next?

It's now your book, for you to do with as you please: keep it, pass it to a friend, or maybe even leave it where someone else can find it!

If you've ever wondered where your books go after they leave your hands, join BookCrossing and you may find out: you'll be able to follow the further adventures of your books as new readers make journal entries - sometimes from surprisingly far-flung locations.

(Think of it like Where's George for books: a little like geocaching or a treasure hunt - you can follow a registered book's journey every time someone makes a new entry. Some BookCrossers even leave books *in* geocaches!)

BookCrossing: making the whole world a library!

I selected this book out of the Biographies of Things bookbox. It looks interesting! I don't think I've ever thought about molecules and how they've affected history.

I found this book very interesting. I have to say that I didn't pay much attention to the chemical diagrams, but I did appreciate the authors' explanations of the molecules' structure and the similarities among related molecules in the chapter.

My favorite chapter was "Molecules of Witchcraft," especially since one of my ancestors was accused of witchcraft in Salem. Overall, I learned some fascinating things about the historical role of various compounds.

I'm reserving this book to put back in the Biographies of Things bookbox.

I included this book in the Biographies of Things bookbox. Enjoy!

This book came home in the Biographies of Things book box. Looks intriguing -- although I think I might be as interested in Napoleon's actual buttons as in molecules.

ETA: Just noticed that this book was on MaryZee's wishlist when she passed. Appropriate that it ended up in her book box.

This book is on the road again as part of the Biographies of Things book box started by MaryZee and continued in her memory.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.

I'm claiming this from the Biographies of Things bookbox. This looks fascinating; I love it when an author takes a single, unassuming item, and parlays it into a discussion of far-ranging historical connections!

OK, so the book wasn't about a single item after all - but I still enjoyed the many and varied "molecules that changed history", even if the didn't all come from those blasted buttons {wry grin}. Some chapters were more familiar to me than others - for example, the one on "Dyes" covered material that I'd read in several excellent books, including Color: A Natural History of the Palette, Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World, and A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire . Others touched on newer-to-me topics, from the fascinating comparison of the essential compounds of cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to the chapter on cellulose, with the impressive variety of structural polysaccharides. I couldn't always follow the organic-chemistry details, but in some cases the diagrams of the molecules were spectacular in themselves, such as the pleated-sheet structure of silk.

I also enjoyed the anecdote about Leo Baekeland, who developed a synthetic plastic that he used for photographic paper. He offered his new invention to George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, planning to ask a hesitant $50,000 (and to accept half that) - only to have Eastman offer him $750,000 outright! So many inventors got stiffed in the marketplace one way or another that it was wonderful to see one getting full recognition of his work by a savvy businessman...

And there were lots more interesting tidbits here, from The Pill to nicotine and caffeine (and morphine, for a triumvirate of mood-altering chemicals) to oleic acid (from olive oil).

I'm adding this to the Science and Technology bookbox, which will be on its way again soon. Hope someone enjoys the book!

*** Released for the 2019 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***

Oh wow, hi! An enthusiastic wave to all my friends here!! It's lovely to see how the book has visited and been enjoyed by several of my BC friends, some I've met in person, some only through the books.

Picking up from the science bookbox.

Don't let all those molecule diagrams scare you. This book is written by two chemists, and I disliked chemistry when I was in school, yet I still managed to enjoy the book, which delve into the story behind a variety of things: spices such as peppers, silk and synthetic fibers, olives, drugs such as morphine and heroin, vitamins, malaria, contraception drug... There's likely a book or two written about each of the chapter subject, but this book is a nice introduction or refresher. The authors tied it all together with a speculation of how history may be different if not for these molecules.

After some hopping around, this book will be back into the Biographies of Things box when the new round arrives.

Putting into MaryZee's Biographies of Things Bookbox.

This book has been in the Biographies of Things book box twice and the Science book box once. I think it has had a good chance to see the country. I will set it aside and take it to the next local meet-up as I think it would be of interest to many of our participants. The commentary by the previous readers has almost persuaded me to read it myself -- except I just picked up about 10 books that I should not have for Mt. TBR.

I picked this up at today's BC-in-DC meeting. The history of science is fascinating, and while chemistry isn't my strongest scientific subject, I'm sure I will find the connections between chemistry and history interesting.