Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy
by John Emsley
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Book Summary Information
Author: John EmsleyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-07-13
ISBN: 0192806734
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy
Book Review: Small audience possible - Not scientific enough, and yet too much...
Summary: 1 Stars
As an undergraduate chemist, I found that this book was far less technical than I'd hoped. It seems, however, that I am not above the level for which this text was intended. For example, any non-chemist will not care for the IUPAC names included, and may not have the scientific background that is assumed for some of the explanations. However, someone with a few years of chemistry studies under their belt will find this to be a gloss-over, and entirely unsatisfying. I have returned the item. I believe the small audience which may appreciate this could be a high-school student or freshman undergraduate with one to two semesters of chemistry tops. I believe, however, that someone without any background in chemistry or biochemistry will make little sense of this book at all. I cannot recommend this one.
Summary of Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy
What is the secret of shower cleaners? How does the dangerous explosive nitroglycerin ward off heart attacks? And what medicines, usually prescribed for other purposes, are said to produce the ultimate orgasm?In Vanity, Vitality, and Virility, award-winning science writer John Emsley offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of 30 chemicals that we use everyday to make ourselves more beautiful, to improve our diet and sexual pleasure, to kill germs, and to ward off depression and other mental illnesses. Emsley looks at common compounds such as alpha-hydroxy acids, vitamin C, chlorine bleach, and Prozac, telling us if they work, how they work, and how they were discovered. Indeed, the book is packed with useful information and easy-to-digest science, and Emsley relates it all with a light touch that delights in the odd fact or amusing anecdote. Thus we learn of the "vitamin C tights" sold in Japan to make your legs more beautiful (they don't work) and of Cleopatra clever idea to bath in milk, which is filled with alpha-hydroxy acids. And we read about the unforgettable British researcher who demonstrated a powerful new drug for male erections at a Las Vegas convention--injecting himself with the compound and then "displaying the results" to a stunned lecture hall.
As with the much-loved Nature's Building Blocks, in John Emsley's hands, chemistry comes alive. Anyone curious about the ingredients in the products we use, and everyone fascinated with science, will be enthralled by this book.
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