The Alchemy of Air
A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler
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Narrated by:
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Adam Verner
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Written by:
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Thomas Hager
About this listen
A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the discovery that changed billions of lives - including your own.
At the dawn of the 20th century, humanity was facing global disaster. Mass starvation, long predicted for the fast-growing population, was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world's scientists to find a solution. This is the story of the two enormously gifted, fatally flawed men who found it: the brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and the reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch.
Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, controlled world markets, and saved millions of lives. Their invention continues to feed us today; without it, more than two billion people would starve.
But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and high explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically. Today we face the other unintended consequences of their discovery - massive nitrogen pollution and a growing pandemic of obesity.
The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of two master scientists who saved the world only to lose everything and of the unforseen results of a discovery that continue to shape our lives in the most fundamental and dramatic of ways.
©2008 Thomas Hager (P)2010 Audible, Inc.What the critics say
What listeners say about The Alchemy of Air
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- Alex Biemans
- 2020-08-21
Important history for the future
Historical and enlightening for fertilizer development/use and the implications (positive and negative). A sharp reminder that science, war, and agriculture are closely knit.
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- Jaguar
- 2021-12-05
one important book
if it wasn't for this book I wouldn't know about the history of nitrogen entrapment. I wouldn't know how difficult and amazing this achievement was. and I also wouldn't know how important for the future of humanity this invention was.
this is an important book that many people I know should listen to or read.
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- Anonymous User
- 2024-12-03
simply fascinating
Very well written book about technology that shaped humanity and ensures it's survival. Working at an ammonia plant, this book makes me really appreciate it even more.
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