Overview

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! reveals for the first time the true extent of how chemistry rather than military strategy determined the shape, duration and outcome of the First World War. Chemistry was not only a destructive instrument of war but also protected troops, and healed the sick and wounded. From bombs to bullets, poison gas to anaesthetics, khaki to cordite, chemistry was truly the alchemy of the First World War. Michael Freemantle explores its dangers and its healing potential, revealing how the arms race was also a race for chemistry to the extent that Germany's thirst for the chemicals needed to make explosives deprived the nation of fertilizers and nearly starved the nation. He answers question such as: What is guncotton? What is lyddite? What is mustard gas? What is phosgene? What is gunmetal? This is a true picture of the horrors of the 'Chemists' War'.

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9780750953757

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[A] solid, accessible survey. -- Publishers Weekly

Powerful. --Wall Street Journal [A] solid, accessible survey. --Publishers Weekly Compelling overview of the chemical innovations and consequences on both sides of World War I... Highly recommended for science enthusiasts, students of World War I, and those wishing to more seamlessly connect science and history. --Library Journal

Author Information

Michael Freemantle is a chemist. He is the former senior correspondent for Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society, and he has written numerous books on the history of chemistry, including An Introduction to Ionic Liquids.

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