The Alchemy of Air

A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler

By: Thomas Hager

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the discovery that changed billions of lives - including your own.

At the dawn of the 20th century, humanity was facing global disaster. Mass starvation, long predicted for the fast-growing population, was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world's scientists to find a solution. This is the story of the two enormously gifted, fatally flawed men who found it: the brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and the reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch.

Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, controlled world markets, and saved millions of lives. Their invention continues to feed us today; without it, more than two billion people would starve.

But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and high explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically. Today we face the other unintended consequences of their discovery - massive nitrogen pollution and a growing pandemic of obesity.

The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of two master scientists who saved the world only to lose everything and of the unforseen results of a discovery that continue to shape our lives in the most fundamental and dramatic of ways.

©2008 Thomas Hager (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This scientific adventure spans two world wars and every cell in your body." ( Discover magazine)

“I know of few other books that provide the general reader with a better portrait of chemistry as the most useful of sciences, and I intend to recommend it to scientists and non-scientists alike.” ( The Journal of Chemical Education)

Excellent history and relevant today.

So much to learn in this well written book. An easy listen. I would recommend to anyone. Thomas Hager is an excellent story teller.

Excellent Story Of Science Used For Good And Bad

As with nuclear power the Haber-Bosch process was also used to destroy humans and the world we built. Imagine nuclear technology if only used to produce electric power, medical treatments, ect and not WMD's? The same story is the result of the HB process. Used to produce fertilizer and bombs.

Best book I've ever read

As a new process engineer, this book is life changing. it's an eye opener of the interplay of history, nature, and politics in chemistry. This book should be required reading for every chemical engineering undergraduate in the country.

Surprisingly interesting

What a dry subject, nitrogen! It would be hard to write an interesting book about this topic, but the author succeeded. He describes how the planet's population was on the verge of starvation, having consumed nearly all the natural deposits of fixed nitrogen to use as fertiliser, and how nations vied for the last scraps of the chemical in remote outposts of South America.

Nitrogen is, of course, plentiful, in the air we breathe. But in order to be useful as a fertiliser, it must be converted to a solid form. Two German scientists, Haber and Bosch, (excuse any mis-spelling, I never saw these names in written form!) worked tirelessly to solve this tricky problem. Their drama unfolded against the backdrop of a fascinating period of German history, in which nitrogen played an especially important role because of its use in explosives (and hence in warfare).

The theme of antisemitism is also important in the book, because a large proportion of Germany's scientists were Jews.

It is a good story, well narrated, and worth a listen.

super interesting story

This is a well written book about a super interesting story of something that keeps halve the world population alive (artificial fertilizer) and you have probably never heard off. To me this was a great eye opener about why battles were fought over an island of bird poop on the coast of south america.
Also a great personal story about the scientists that sacrificed their lives to develop true technologies while holding false believes in the nation state. Trying to be more german than the germans, finally nevertheless dissed as a jew by those who claimed to represent the imaginary nation state. Both Haber and Bosch developed world changing technology but died disillusioned, the product of their lives being plundered and exploited by politicians and war mongers.
Fascinating

fascinating story. the time flew by.

This is a must for anyone involved in the sciences, agriculture, or modern history. Appreciate that the story is much broader than Haber-Bosch itself, the expanded view provides fascinating and useful context.

More people should know this

Where does The Alchemy of Air rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very high in interesting subject matter. Knowing this story is an essential basis to understand the challenges we have overcome to allow the expansion of the human race on earth and what might be required to support its continued growth. Yet, with so much discussion of organic farming, gmos, etc, few people seem to understand this important part of our agricultural history. The core story is expertly intermingled with world history to teach a profound lesson about how just a handful of men can change the course of life as we know it.

Very informative

Would you listen to The Alchemy of Air again? Why?

I would listen again. This is a piece of history that I did not know about. I love chemistry and this history of modern chemistry played right into my interests.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Alchemy of Air?

Learning that modern food production would be impossible without this process.

What does Adam Verner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

When I read my voice is the narrator in my head. Hearing this read to me was like listening to a favorite professor.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I think I could have listened in one sitting. It was very gripping.

Fascinating and Informative

For those who prefer non-fiction, history, technology, visionary personalities. An intriguing and educational account of history, Peru, Chile, Guano and Saltpetre eras and German technology and industry. I'm an engineer, I didn't realise . . .

Chemical engineering never sounded so interesting!

A great tale, mixing engineering, history and drama. You really get an insight into the characters' personalities and motivations. Great description of the places and the general feeling of the time within the story. It kept me hooked!