Review by Booklist Review
At the beginning of best-selling Kean's (The Tale of Dueling Neurosurgeons, 2014) exploration of the intricacies of air, he asks readers to consider the fanciful but strong likelihood that everyone now living is inhaling traces of Julius Caesar's last breath, expelled when his assassins administered the fatal knife blow more than 2,000 years ago. In fact, given the endlessly circulatory nature of our atmosphere and the trillions of molecules comprising it, our lungs are also filtering microscopic particles of everything from dinosaur exhalations to the CO2 currently heating up the planet. Yet these startling truths are just a warm-up for the author's comprehensive study of all the gases that keep us alive, including not only breathable oxygen but also the more toxic varieties that paradoxically nurtured Earth's first life-forms. In three richly informative sections, the author describes early prehuman atmospheres, reviews mankind's use of gases to advance civilization, and looks at how air chemistry has changed in the last few hundred years. Once again, Kean proves his mettle as one of science literature's most gifted practitioners.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Kean (The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons) pumps chemical and historical trivia into this tale about air and the gases of which it is composed. His style ranges from buoyant to jittery and he bounces ideas around as though they were ping-pong balls. Math buffs may enjoy determining how many calories it takes to vaporize a human body or how many oxygen molecules a human needs every 24 hours; other readers will content themselves with trying to decipher the chemical breakdown of their next breath. The air in that breath, Kean points out, is nearly as old as the Earth and includes not only traces of Caesar's last exhalation but traces of every gas-emitting being or thing on the planet-including volcanoes, bombs, farms, and restaurant kitchens. While discussing the gases of which air is composed, Kean describes many relevant engineering feats, such as the steam engine, synthetic fertilizer, anesthesia, dynamite, steel production, the hot-air balloon, and more. He provides historical vignettes about such phenomena as spontaneous combustion and the first bank robbery done via blowtorch. Kean also considers how the relationship between humans and air has changed in the era of nuclear power, refrigeration, space exploration, and global warming. The result is a hodgepodge of ephemera that is lightweight and entertaining. Agent: Rick Broadhead, Rick Broadhead & Assoc. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Kean (The Disappearing Spoon), purveyor of narrative popular science, grasps at the chemical makeup of what we breathe. Divided into three sections-how our atmosphere came to be, how gases have shaped humanity, and how humans have harnessed gases over time-this book opens with the riveting and macabre story of the 1980 eruption of Washington State's Mount St. Helens, whose volcanic heat vaporized a curmudgeonly innkeeper who refused to evacuate. Kean also profiles the German chemists whose discovery of ammonia led to World War I's devastating chemical warfare and the lifesaving development of gaseous anesthetics for surgeries, and-no joke-a 19th-century French "fartiste" with a prodigious ability to produce musical flatulence. Kean has a knack for distilling chemistry to its essential elements, using stories and humor to soften a subject that might otherwise trigger unpleasant flashbacks to high school lab class. VERDICT For anyone interested in the invisible forces that sustain life, this is a dose of fresh air. [Prepub Alert, 1/23/17.]-Chad Comello, Morton Grove P.L., IL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A witty book that turns the science of the stuff we breathe into a delightful romp through history.Kean (The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery, 2014, etc.), an award-winning science writer whose previous books may have sounded off the wall but tackled serious subjects, has done it again, using his free-wheeling style to translate hard scientific facts into lively stories. He divides the narrative into three sections, the first of which examines the origins of the air on our planet. Here, we learn about the contribution of volcanic eruptions, including a diverting piece on one unfortunately stubborn resident of Mount Saint Helens, the eruption of which served as "the greatest geology lesson in American history." In the second section, Kean takes up the various components of air, starting with the major one, nitrogen, and concluding with the much rarer helium and the noble gases. Here, each chapter explores how human beings have exploited the different gases, which gives the author the opportunity to tell more entertaining stories, including ones about anesthesia and ballooning. In the third section, Kean takes a look at recent changes in the composition of our air and at the significance of the atmospheres of other planets. Of special interest, however, are the interspersed sections called "Interludes," in which the author tells related human interest anecdotese.g., an exploding lake in Cambodia, a failed bank robbery in Germany, spontaneous combustion of humans, and the special talents of Le Ptomane, a highly paid "fartiste" at the Moulin Rouge. Kean cannot resist sharing other gems he uncovered in his research, and readers will appreciate them. For these, see the back-of-the-book section, "Notes and Miscellanea." Some are priceless. Great fun for general readers curious about our world and an especially appropriate gift for a young person considering a career in the sciences. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
