Heinrich Caro and the Creation of Modern Chemical Industry (Chemists and Chemistry)

Book Description

Heinrich Caro (1834--1910) was the inventor of new chemical processes that in the two decades commencing in 1869 enabled BASF of Ludwigshafen, Germany, to take first place among manufacturers of synthetic dyestuffs. The cornerstones of Caro's success were his early training as calico (cotton) printer in Germany, and his employment at a chemical firm in Manchester, England. Caro was a creative research chemist, a highly knowledgeable patent specialist and expert witness, and a brilliant manager of science-based chemical technology. This first full-length scientific biography of Heinrich Caro delineates his role in the emergence of the industrial research laboratory, the forging of links between academic and industrial chemistry, and the development of modern patent law. Major chemical topics include the rise of classical organic chemistry, collaboration with Adolf Baeyer, artificial alizarin and indigo, aniline dyes, and other coal-tar products, particularly intermediates.

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

Average customer rating:

more than I ever expected
Red trail through history
Terrific study of the history of cochineal trafficking
Colorful History
Facts are usually stranger than fiction...

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
Amy Butler Greenfield
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Color: A Natural History of the Palette
Blue: The History of a Color.
Spice: The History of a Temptation
The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet
Colors: The Story of Dyes and Pigments

ASIN: 0060522763
Release Date: 2006-04-25

Book Description

In the sixteenth century, one of the world's most precious commodities was cochineal, a legendary red dye treasured by the ancient Mexicans and sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune. As the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans joined the chase for cochineal -- a chase that lasted for more than three centuries -- a tale of pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies unfolds. A Perfect Red evokes with style and verve this history of a grand obsession, of intrigue, empire, and adventure in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

Customer Reviews:

more than I ever expected.......2007-09-26

This was one of two books a friend traveled across the country to share with me. I am so glad she did. I would never have picked up this book on my own. I have a terrible time finding non-fiction works that are interesting - unless they are recommended. I look at the table of books and decide something looks good. Then when I get it home, I have a hard time getting to my 100 page allowed stopping point.

Greenfield does a wonderful job of describing the importance of the color red throughout history and the different compounds used to create it. With a focus on the cochineal originating in Mexico, this book covers the fortunes of Spain and the industry itself. Weaving the domestication of cochineal with the efforts of other countries to destroy Spain's monopoly, the book moves quickly. there were very few sections of the book where I was willing to put it down. Yes, I could stop at the chapters, but I only once put it down while in the middle of a chapter.

I highly recommend this book - and if I didn't have to send it back to its owner, I would keep it in the library. I will be recommending it to my mother for her book club. With their focus on women authors and a mix of fiction and non-fiction, this book will give them much to discuss.

Red trail through history.......2007-06-03

Some of the best stories are the histories of everyday objects that few ever consider. This book is an example of such a story. It traces the history of the color red; specifically, it examines the sources of red dye sought by humans over the past 700 years. Something as simple as a color can actually be quite difficult to obtain without the marvels of modern technology. This book starts of at the Venetian textile guilds of the late Middle Ages and shows the reader the state of the world's textile industry. Of all the colors, bright red is hardest to produce on clothing, and individuals and governments devote a lot of time and effort to procure new sources. Many are found, but the best one is carminic acid found in the insect cochineal, native to the Americas, and cultivated in Mexico specifically to obtain the color red. Starting with the Spanish conquest, red dye from Mexico is exported to the rest of the world, and four centuries of trade wars and political intrigue follow. The book lays all this out in chronological order, citing places, people, governments and institutions. But eventually, man's technology caught up with nature's bounty, and by 1900, synthetic red dyes destroy the cochineal cultivation industry. All the ensuing technical advances, scientific discoveries, and commercial contests are detailed clearly by the author. The book ends with a survey of the dye industry at the end of the 20th century, and a review of how red dye has influenced, and been influenced by fashion tastes throughout the centuries. This book touches many countries, and ties in history, economics, fashion, politics and science into a wonderful tale of man's obsession for a specific color.

Terrific study of the history of cochineal trafficking.......2006-09-16

This book is one of the very best I have seen in a long time. The author has taken great care to present historically correct and detailed information about the long history of cochineal farming, and sale of this commodity (dried beetles that can be processed to create a brilliant hue of red).
She reveals all of the intrigue of Spain's royalty, as they sought to keep this much prized product of New Spain exclusively for the Spanish empire. Even Perkin's discovery of the color "mauve" is discussed. This book will find broad interest among scholars and the general public. It is certainly a book worth owning, if you love the history of textiles.

Patricia Cummings

Colorful History.......2006-08-11

A Perfect Red is history at its best: examine something seemingly insignificant, let it take you down its byways and tangents to myriad interconnections, and soon you have a world history in miniature.

A Perfect Red is primarily concerned with the age old desire for bright colors, especially red. In the 16th century Europeans discovered a new source from the Americas which would provide a beautiful shade of dark crimson: cochineal. Over the next several centuries cochineal became one of the most prized imports from the New World until chemical dyes became commonplace in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Amy Butler Greenfield writes well, not just about cochineal and its uses, but about the economics and politics behind the search for the perfect red. She also does a good job examining the cultural changes which made red highly desireable, then a color to be avoided as a symbol of sin and decadence. Furthermore, she is a skilled depictor of personalities and draws shrewd portraits of the many fascinating characters involved in the story of cochineal. Highly recommended.

Facts are usually stranger than fiction..........2006-06-22

Facts are usually stranger than fiction, and this book supplies one more proof. The sheer ineptitude of some of the government ministers, the luck of some of the explorers, and the same mistakes being repeated over and over again, would be unbelievable if written as fiction, but this is history.
This book primarily covers the exploration, and exploitation of Cochineal (a small bug from South America that produces one of the best of all natural red dyes). There is mention of the earlier trade in Kermes (a similar red dye producing insect from the mediterranean) and other red dyes such as Madder, but it is primarily covering the rise and fall of the Spanish Empire and its monopoly on Cochineal. The book also covers uses of Cochineal in the post chemical dye age.
A note to members of the SCA and other re-enactors, this book, while worth buying, and very interesting, does more heavily emphasize the time period *after* Queen Elizabeth the first.

A History of the International Chemical Industry (Chemical Sciences in Society Series)

Average customer rating:

Great Overview

A History of the International Chemical Industry (Chemical Sciences in Society Series)
Fred Aftalion
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Industrial & Technical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Chemical Industry at the Millennium: Maturity, Restructuring, and Globalization
Shaping the Industrial Century: The Remarkable Story of the Evolution of the Modern Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries (Harvard Studies in Business History)
Chemistry and the Chemical Industry: A Practical Guide for Non-Chemists
Chemicals and Long-Term Economic Growth: Insights from the Chemical Industry
Fine Chemicals: The Industry and the Business

ASIN: 0812282078

Product Description

Fred Aftalion's international perspective of the history of chemistry integrates the story of chemical science with that of chemical industry. This new edition includes events from 1990 to 2000, when major companies began selling off their divisions, seeking to specialize in a particular business. Aftalion explores the pitfalls these companies encountered as well as the successes of "contrarians"--those companies that remained broad and diversified. He uses BASF, Dow, and Bayer as examples of true contrarians.

Customer Reviews:

Great Overview.......2007-01-09

A good overview of the history of the development of the chemical industry. I include part of this information in my High School Chemistry classes to give the students some historical perspective of the science. Nice to have a good chunk of it in one reference.

Still Going Wrong!: Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have Been Avoided

Average customer rating:

A must read for professionals of industrial loss prevention

Still Going Wrong!: Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have Been Avoided
Trevor Kletz
Manufacturer: Gulf Professional Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Engineering | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

What Went Wrong?, Fourth Edition: Case Studies of Process Plant Disasters
Learning from Accidents, Third Edition
Process Plants: A Handbook for Inherently Safer Design (Chemical Engineering)
Dispelling Chemical Engineering Myths (Chemical Engineering) (Chemical Engineering)
Troubleshooting Process Operations

ASIN: 0750677090

Book Description

This is Trevor Kletz's follow up to his extremely successful What Went Wrong? Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters. In it, Kletz reinforces the messages in his now-classic book of famous case histories, but the majority of the book covers points not covered in the original. This new volume will focus more on procedural changes that can be made, not only at the technical or engineering levels, but at the managerial level, to prevent disasters from happening.

* This volume follows up on the cases and strategies outlined in the original million-dollar seller: "What Went Wrong"
* Contains many new cases and areas for improvement, including the hazards of rust, corrosion, and many more new topics
* Written by the world's leading expert on industrial safety

Customer Reviews:

A must read for professionals of industrial loss prevention.......2007-08-26

A sequel of What Went Wrong?, Fourth Edition: Case Studies of Process Plant Disasters]] by Trevor Kletz

Both books referred to me by a highly qualified colleague

The author lectures about loss prevention in order to avoid accidents by way of cases he has stumbled upon during his professional experience

He shows how self-confidence, ignorance, and engineering misconceptions & myths can lead to awful tragedies in terms of property damage and loss of life

In this second book, with the same structure as "What went wrong", what I have found is far better crystal clear examples, more simple language and more concrete enlightening concepts

Having 12 years experience to date working in Health & Safety and Loss Control Engineering, and having visited more than 1000 factories of every kind and size in Argentina, (I work with a large corporate local insurance broker), both, this book and "What went wrong" helped me to understand better some subjects very difficult to comprehend (i.e risks with static electricity), just to mention one of the many

The explanations about corrosion related to tanks and the explosion in a tank that contained only water, were very enlightening indeed, I mean this last one incredible

I hope Mr Kletz publishes further work

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World

Average customer rating:

Excellent book!
It Entertains and Instructs... who could want for more?
Dane
Excellent overview
Great intro to history, science and technology

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World
Jack Kelly
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

My Traitor's Heart: A South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe, and His Conscience
The Earth And Its Peoples: A Global History
World Civilizations: Sources, Images and Interpretations, Volume 2
Gone Fishin': Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story "Smoke" (Easy Rawlins Mysteries)
Chemistry of Powder and Explosives

ASIN: 0465037186
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Book Description

From veteran author Jack Kelly, a tour through the turbulent history of one of mankind's most critical inventions-the fiery substance that transformed everything from fireworks in China to warfare in Renaissance Europe and beyond.

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution.

With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book!.......2007-05-03

Finely written, plenty of interesting details, it's a masterpiece not only for those somehow devoted to the field of military history, but also to chemists dealing with the surprising field of energetic materials. Thank you, Jack Kelly!

It Entertains and Instructs... who could want for more?.......2007-01-26

1/25/2007

Jack Kelly, 1949-
Gunpowder -- Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World. / Jack Kelly.
New York: Basic Books, 2005. ISBN 0-465-03722-4 (paperback).

Fire speaks to us, says Jack Kelly. Considering that fire is in all liklihood one of the oldest -- if not the oldest -- of mankind's technological inventions, that's not surprising. Mr. Kelly succeeds admirably in keeping the fire metaphor close at hand throughout all 242 pages of his text, from the explosions of burning bamboo -- intended to frighten away the Chinese semi-human shan -- to our present-day nuclear fire.

Along the way, we're treated to a much larger panorama than most of us ever consider. The Chinese, most people are aware, came up with what we term "gunpowder" in the ninth century. They didn't call it gunpowder, of course -- no such thing as a gun -- but it was used as an elixer designed to render the user immortal; the stuff was made of sulfur, saltpeter, and dried honey. Developments were not quick in the orient, but by the early 1400's, China's military was equipped with cannon and individual firearms of a sort.

Gunpowder was to be widely used in Europe, though. While the "cannon" at Crecy and Agincourt may not have been terribly effective, they sounded the death knell for the armored knight / moated castle feudal system. (True, arrows could penetrate plate armor, but an accomplished archer required a lot of training; a soldier could be taught to use a simple firearm -- a matchlock, say -- relatively quickly.) Most of us have some familiarity with the military changes wrought by gunpowder ant its associated firearms, but how many of us know that:

* Christiaan Huygens attempted to devise an internal-combustion 'moteur a explosion' using gunpowder as the fuel. Only an inability to come up with a way to deliver successive charges to the cylinder prevented the actual fabrication of Huygen's engine.
* The proximate cause of the American Revolution could be considered British General Gates' determination to seize all gunpowder in and near Boston. The fights at Lexington and Concord in 1775 were simply the last of a series of raids. (Hmmm... "gun control" through ammunition control... nothing much seems to have changed, has it? One is permitted to cynically hope that the modern-day controllers are no more successful than General Gates.)
* Fulimates and nitrated hydrocarbons (nitrocelulose -- guncotten, and nitroglycerine) were at first developed as substitutes for gunpowder. Their applications were greatly modified, of course: fulminates into the "primers", and the nitro- compounds as components of so-called smokeless powder.

There's a lot to like in this book, and not much to dislike. The proofreading appears to have been exemplary: there are no glaring spelling arrors, misplaced paragraphs, orphaned sentences, or similar horrors to be found. The illustrations, a mixture of photgraphs, line drawings, and reproductions of what appear to be woodcuts, nicely compliment the text. One point which is at most, a minor annoyance: projectile speeds given in miles per hour jar a bit when one is used to thinking in terms of feet per second. (Yes, it's easy enough to multiply MPH by 1.47 to get FPS; even 1.5 is pretty close.)

The major strength of this volume is, however, the mixture: it's not a technical treatise, nor a chemical text, nor a tactical manual, nor a governmental history, nor yet a philosophical tract. It's all of these; literally, how gunpowder changed the world... the whole world. Jack Kelly has succeeded in fulfilling the promise of his title, and carries us along quite merrily, all the way through to the end. In our present day, he observes that gunpwder, its thousand-year history notwithstanding, has been largely relegated to two of its earliest uses: celebrations and entertainment.

Mr. Kelly thoughtfully supplies an informal "sources consulted" style bibliography, organized by chapter, and a working index, both of which are very welcome, indeed.

Dane.......2005-10-11

The book is informative but lacks foot notes. The author says it is because it is a popular history not a scholarly work. However foot notes would have made this a great book as is it is simply a good starting place.

Excellent overview.......2005-09-01

Jack Kelly has written an easy-to-read overview of the evolution of gunpowder development and use from its invention at the turn of the first millennium until it was replaced by synthetics in the 19th century. In fact, synthetics so thoroughly replaced gunpowder that what was once gunpowder is differentiated from its replacements by the term "black powder" while synthetics have taken over the germ gunpowder.

Beginning with its invention and use by the Chinese, who first used gunpowder in an early version of (ineffective) hand grenades, through its first effective use in bombards in Europe, until it became the staple for small arms in the early modern period of history Kelly presents an interesting narrative history on how gunpowder impacted the world. Although there is a technological deterministic aspect to the book (a natural result of the subject) the book does do a good job of putting gunpowder into context - in some cases gunpowder drives further military developments, in others the refinement of gunpowder is driven by other needs. This book is especially interesting if you have any interest in the concept of "military revolution." It focuses on one type of tool over a 900 year period, which allows you to see how one technology evolved, and was integrated into the transformation of war, over a significant period of time.

Great intro to history, science and technology.......2005-01-22

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, by Jack Kelly, Basic Books, NY, 2004. Kelly had done a very nice job with this crisp, well written history of gunpowder. He covers the subject nicely, in survey fashion, but with some detailed stories. There's history, technology, and science-all in fine factual detail but for the general audience. The chemistry, mathematics, metallurgy, and physics are there, but not in rigorous detail. Just enough to whet the appetite for further study. References are included for each chapter, though footnotes are lacking.

A detailed study of the history of gunpowder and related technologies could have gone on for thousands of pages. The author has selected certain stories for focus. He begins in China, and tells especially the European story, and the use of firearms in battle, on land and at sea. He includes some stories from America including the Revolutionary War, the story of Samuel Colt, and the Dupont story of gunpowder. He ends with development of the A-bomb, but really coverage ends at the beginning of the Twentieth Century with smokeless powder. There is no mention of lead mining or the famous shot towers. Kelly covers the abundance of saltpeter in the warm climate of China, its general shortage in Europe, and the extensive efforts to collect and extract it in Britain and France. But there is no mention of the Nobel Prize winning Borne-Haber process, invented in World War I in Germany, that resolved the nitrate shortage by making synthetic nitric acid from air and fossil fuels (natural gas, naphtha, coal), as is still practiced today.

The book is highly readable and will be appreciated by those interested in history, science, and technology. Index.

Sulfur: History, Technology, Applications & Industry

Average customer rating:

Sulfur: History, Technology, Applications & Industry
Ph.D., Gerald Kutney
Manufacturer: William Andrew Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

Industrial & Technical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1895198372

Book Description

Sulfur, through its major derivative, sulfuric acid is among the most used and important raw materials in industry today. It is a critical part of every sector of the world's economies and is regarded as one of the best indices of a nation's industrial development. In fact, sulfuric acid is the most produced chemical in the United States. This book is a scientific history of sulfur, tracking the technologies, applications, and the industry itself from ancient markets to the current global economy.

Each chapter is devoted to either a method of production or a set of applications as they intertwined during different stages of industrial and technological developments. Particular attention is given to Herman Frasch, inventor of the Frasch Process, which enabled America to go from 100% import of sulfur to the world's largest exporter in less than a decade.

The sulfur industry is also an excellent case study of entrepreneurship and relationship with inventors. It reveals the characteristics of entrepreneurs and inventors and approaches required to formulate goals. Most importantly, it shows how to succeed in new ventures. Rockefeller might have been a failure if Frasch had not rescued him from his “bad investment” in oil. Since sulfur must be removed from oil and natural gas before they can be used as energy sources, Frasch turned certain failure into wild success through his technological expertise and determination.

Although scientific and technical in nature, this book is written so that anyone without a strong chemistry background will enjoy reading it. The interested audience goes far beyond the boundaries of sulfur applications and the oil industry and should be found in every technical, university, and public library.

Photochemistry, History and Commercial Applications of Hexaarylbiimidazoles: All about HABIs

Average customer rating:

Photochemistry, History and Commercial Applications of Hexaarylbiimidazoles: All about HABIs
Rolf Dessauer
Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

Industrial & Technical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Engineering | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Medicine | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0444527702

Book Description

The objective of this book is to acquaint the reader with a novel class of photochemical oxidants and polymerization initiators that have become widely accepted in industry. As most of the work with these materials is reported in the patent literature, an effort has been made to study this area of scientific activity, as well as present a thorough review of the journal publications. Photochemistry, History and Commercial Applications of HABIs also presents new technologies such as waveguides, holography along with some more traditional applications (i.e. filters, litho plates, and photoresists).

* A complete review of technology associated with hexaarylbiimidazoles
* Includes CDs with spreadsheets describing the patents and journal references
* Includes DVDs containing interviews with inventors of the technology

The Essential Oils: History-Origin in Plants-Production-Analysis (Essential Oils)

Average customer rating:

The Essential Oils: History-Origin in Plants-Production-Analysis (Essential Oils)
Ernest Guenther
Manufacturer: Krieger Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century

Average customer rating:

A history tour of material innovations and inventors
Yielding disappointment
A Fun and Enlightening read
I have one word for you...
Superb history of plastic

Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century
Stephen Fenichell
Manufacturer: HarperBusiness
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

American Plastic: A Cultural History
The Plastics Age: From Bakelite to Beanbags and Beyond

ASIN: 0887308627

Amazon.com

One of the most enduring joke lines in cinematic history comes near the beginning of 1967's The Graduate when Dustin Hoffman's character is advised to pursue a career in "plastic." The subject itself is really far from a joke, however: the development of man-made materials has revolutionized the worlds of fashion, travel, entertainment--even medicine. Whether it's vinyl, nylon, Plexiglas or Teflon, plastic is far more than a cheap imitation of the real thing. In Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century, Stephen Fenichell entertainingly traces the history of plastic while informatively outlining its sociological importance.

Book Description

Prophylactics to polystyrene, viscose to Velcro, saran to cellophane: For better or worse, we're married to plastic. In your refrigerator, your closet, your car it's everywhere, and it's not going away. You eat with it, work with it, play with it. Often, you even breathe it. Cheap, pliable, easily made, eminently democratic, it symbolizes everything that's both wrong and right with our culture.

In Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century, Stephen Fenichell takes a fresh, irreverent look at the substance we all love to hate. The book moves from the early astonishment at such inventions as celluloid film and waterproof clothing, to the nylon-stocking riots after World War II, to the revolutionary yet practical proliferation of Tupperware in the '50s. Fenichell's sweeping assessment of the social and economic revolutions brought on by plastic extends from the sublime to the absurd, the beautiful to the mundane, demonstrating how scientists, artists, politicians and the buying public have all molded, and also been molded, by plastic.

By turns a hero and a villain, a useless fad, an essential commodity, plastic is the ideal indicator of how people think and live. With clarity, wit and deadpan accuracy, Fenichell narrates a rollicking story about the thrills, chills and accidental spills that led to the development of plastic, about the scientists and corporations who got rich (or went bankrupt) creating and selling synthetics, and about the surprising invention that has shaped our world.

Customer Reviews:

A history tour of material innovations and inventors.......2006-01-03

Fenichell is highly readable. He has appreciation for inventors who have developed new materials for the service of society. His book offers a balanced perspective, coupled with engaging anecdotes. Well done!

Yielding disappointment.......2005-09-26

Plastic. The making of a synthetic century.

Stephen Fenichell. 1996 HarperBusiness

This book is shows good examples of many of the strengths and weaknesses of pop journalistic authorship of technical material. I don't want to slate it out of hand because it covers a great deal of valuable material that must have taken a good deal of hard work to collect. Unfortunately the author then understandably found the task of collation challenging, and the technical aspects beyond him. The infuriating thing to me is that journalistic writers do not let that bother them; they cheerfully grind on to the deadline, scattering the fragments of sense and sensibility wherever they get in the way. After all, the reader cannot be expected to understand such stuff, let alone care about it, so why worry about it?

Well maybe. . . But then why bother with the book anyway? Why stuff a book with nonsense to fill out the bits that the writer does not understand and is not equipped to explain? I surely cannot be the only reader who would rather do without an explanation than wade pointlessly through an incompetent non-explanation? Did Fenichell hope that readers who had skimmed over meaningless explanations would get a comfortable sense of having absorbed the gist? Good luck to such.

It is not just isolated errors that I am complaining about. Consider an example of my forbearance. Fenichell thinks that the lac insect is a beetle. Now, where he got that from, I cannot imagine, and it should have been no challenge to get the facts without consulting an entomological textbook (for the record, lac insects are members of a family of scale insects related to aphids and plant bugs. They are nearly as different as they can get from beetles and still be insects). But an isolated slip in a tangential point like that is forgivable and would hardly inconvenience most of his readers, who probably would hardly know the difference between a beetle and a scale insect anyway, so I gritted my teeth and looked the other way. My complaint is that the slip is not isolated and that he shows equal contempt for more relevant material where he is too ignorant to recognise that he is talking nonsense. Mentioning and glossing over things one does not understand in the appropriate context is forgivable, even helpful, but explaining them is an excellent example of where it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to say enough to remove all doubt.

Fenichell seems to know neither enough chemistry nor enough science of materials to speak sense about tham. He shows no comprehension of the difference between hardness and other concepts related to strength, and makes meaningless comparisons between say, abalone shell and steel. Either he never consulted chemists and engineers, or never asked them to vet his interpretations of their advice, or if he did, they were either too illiterate or too embarrassed to help him much. The first few times I found a description of a process or reaction that I could not follow, I put it down to careless skimming and pressed on, but soon I found that they were par for the course. In fact they generally got worse towards the end of the book. I am not sure whether this was because the subject matter was becoming too drastically technical for Fenichell to kid himself about, or whether it was just the problem that dilettantes perennially encounter when they wrote technical books. Commonly they find themselves out of their depth, ignominiously reduced to cramming what should have been the last three quarters of the book into what amounts to an appendix to the introductory chapters.

The closing chapters were the most tedious from my point of view, because that was where Fenichell concentrated on philosophy and quoted the views of various big names who seemed to know hardly anything about chemistry, engineering, economy, or materials science, but were quite willing to sound off in largely meaningless terms about plastics, nature, interfaces and the like. Oh welllll. . . Who am I to sneer? At least they made money and reputations that way.

Now, all Fenichell's glossings and handwavings leave me with a serious problem. If I cannot trust the items I do understand, then how am I to trust the book where it deals with material I know nothing about?

Fenichell starts with the history of plastics derived directly from natural products, such as rubber and cellulose. Allowing for my increasing distrust of anything he says, he presents a reasonable encapsulation of the subject matter. Unfortunately he has a his share of journalistic pose and writes as though his deadline and his professional mannerisms were more important than unaffectedly addressing and informing his readership. The book reads as though neither he nor an editor was interested in checking his prose for readability and comprehensibility. There are repeated passages where one has to reread a sentence to make sense of the concord. Yes, we all make such slips occasionally, but when it happens time and again, someone has been neglecting his workmanship to the extent that it amounts to contempt for the reader. Fenichell's journalese tempts him into weary wordplays and hackneyed opening references to what his subjects were doing at such and such a place on such and such a time, with no sense of when or whether such atmospheric artifices help the story. It leaves the reader (this one anyway) with a sense similar to watching those dreadful TV reporters who have been told to use their hands rather than stand like talking tailors' dummies. They proceed to gesture mechanically, stiltedly, and without any connection to what they are saying.

That is much like the effect that reflexive journalese narrative style has on sound and sense.

Make no mistake, I have read worse by far, but Fenichell's prose could do with some serious delousing. The pity is that when he actually writes unaffectedly and does not get entangled in his sentence construction, he does so quite pleasantly. The book gives me a frustrating sense of a valuable work spoilt for a haporth of homework and care.

Fenichell certainly has collected and presented a large volume of historical material, so you might find the book useful or even entertaining. The history of plastics is very complex and diffuse, with no single story line, so if Fenichell ever publishes another edition, then my main recommendation after he has cleaned up his technicalities, his style and his prose, is that he includes a timeline in the book. It need not take more than a two-page spread and it could add hugely to the reader's perspective of the subject.

In discussing the benefits and problems deriving from plastics technologies and applications, Fenichell does not take sides, but steers a fairly balanced, if not very analytic, course between the haters and lovers of plastics. My advice is that you read the book if you have a rainy Sunday to fill or a project to write, but don't trust what you read except where you can check the facts and contexts.

A Fun and Enlightening read.......2002-04-02

I came across this book by accident,while travelling. The colorful cover caught my eye, but soon after reading a few chapters I was hooked. It's the perfect beach book. Plastic is now a word that can conjure the idea of "cheap" or "fake" but it was not always so. Fenichell starts us at the beginning of the discovery of the various materials like man-made rubber and other things we now take for granted, and tells the story of each innovation as though we are standing there in the lab and the inventor yells "Eureka!" Stories about the inventors range from funny (you know Goodyear is going to eventually succeed because of his famous name, but he has many misadventures before success arrives) to poignant, in the stories where someone desperately wants to achieve fame and fortune but their "plastic" product fails to catch on and their name disappears into oblivion.
My only criticism is the chapter on my grandfather, who plays a prominent role in the history of plastic. Fenichell simplifies and distorts some of the facts about my grandfather's company, but I forgive him in that it makes the reading light and entertaining in the end (well, a couple of chapters get bogged down by technical explanations of certain chemical processes). This is a book for anyone interested in American history, sociology,and pop psychology: plastics of all kinds make up an inextricable part of every aspect of our daily lives.

I have one word for you..........2000-05-04

This is a scholarly, tongue in cheek, thoroughly enjoyable peon to the most despicable of substances. Histories of science and industry could learn much from Mr. Fenichill's pleasing blend of knowledge and humor. This is one of my favorite books.

Superb history of plastic.......1999-02-01

Ever wonder about where things come from, how did they discover nylon, rayon, bakelite, tupperware, saran wrap? This book has the answers. Very readable.

Average customer rating:

Best NAPCO book out there, .....so far.
Napco
Napco by Kathleen Deel

Napco (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Kathleen Deel
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Pottery & Ceramics | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Ceramics | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Vintage Christmas Ceramic Collectibles: Identification And Price Guide
Collectors Guide to Made in Japan Ceramics: Identification & Values (Collector's Guide to Made in Japan Ceramics)
Enesco Then And Now: An Unauthorized Collector's Guide (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Py Miyao Fun Kitchen Collectibles: Reference & Value Guide
Lefton China (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

ASIN: 0764308440

Book Description

Ceramic pieces sold by Napco*r (National Potteries Corporation) are distinctive and popular again today. From its prolific output of the 1950s and 1960s to its miniature bone china imports of the 1970s, Napco has held the interest of collectors because the ceramic items are consistently well-designed. This volume brings together information on all of the Napco*T lines, including chapters on animal figures, birthday sets, decorative items and kitchenware, figurines and planters, and head vases. There is a separate section on Inarco*T (International Artware Corporation), sister company of Napco. Collectors of holiday items, angels, and nursery rhyme characters will find plenty of interest in these pages. An added bonus is the directory of major importing companies of the fifties and sixties. With over 1,000 color photos and a price guide, this is a worthwhile addition to a ceramics collector's library.

Customer Reviews:

Best NAPCO book out there, .....so far........2007-06-14

This is the best book you can find on the subject of NAPCOS. It is not 100% complete, since so many thousand NAPCOS were issued since the mid 1900's; however, this book will give the collector a very nice basis on the subject.

Excellent photos. Printed on nice paper!

Napco.......2006-01-23

This is a fantastic book for the Napco collector. It offers beautiful pictures of some of the best figurines ever made. If you're a fan of Napco, this book is a must have!

Napco by Kathleen Deel.......1999-11-23

This is by far the best book on Napco figurines and has MANY of the hard to find items fully photographed. I have been looking for a book to help me on my Storybook collectables for years and this one is a dream come true! Also has birthday angels and many, many more! So much information all photographed and in beautiful full color! Kathleen Deel knows her Napco collectables and now I will too! I highly recommend this book!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books