The Chemical Tree : A History of Chemistry

Tracing the roots of the science back to the alchemists' futile attempts to turn lead into gold, Brock (history of science, U. of Leicester) follows its emergence through the works of Boyle, Lavoisier, and Dalton and the 20th-century breakthroughs of Linus Pauling and others. He examines the shifting conceptions from the early scientific philosophy to recent applications in commerce and industry. The 1993 edition was titled The Norton History of Chemistry . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)