Creative Chemistry

Here is a book that proves everyday magic is simply chemistry we have not yet understood. Edwin E. Slosson traces the remarkable transformation of alchemy from a mystical, imprecise pursuit into the powerful science that built the modern world. He reveals how once-despised elements became indispensable: vanadium steel gave Ford the strength to manufacture automobiles, cerium revolutionized lighting before itself being nearly forgotten, and hydrogenation turned discarded corn and cottonseed waste into stable, shelf-stable fats that fed armies and civilians alike. Through stories of nitrogen fertilizers that averted Malthusian catastrophe and explosives that shaped both war and peace, Slosson demonstrates that the industrial age runs on chemistry. Written with infectious enthusiasm for discovery, this book captures a moment when science seemed to promise limitless transformation of the material world. For anyone curious about why the objects around them exist, and who first made them possible.