I agree with Steve. Langford and Beebe is an excellent treatment. (I am not familiar with Brock.) Jay Young ----- Original Message ----- From: "List Moderator"To: Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:51 PM Subject: [DCHAS-L] 3 RE: [DCHAS-L] Any Good Chem History Books? From: Steven Wathen Date: November 10, 2009 4:00:25 PM EST Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Any Good Chem History Books? Two books that I have enjoyed are: The Chemical Tree: A History of Chemistry by William H. Brock The Development of Chemical Principles by Cooper H. Langford and Ralph A. Beebe Both give a historical view of how basic chemical theories developed - from before alchemy to the 20th century. They gave me a good appreciation of the things I cover in general chemistry as well as the upper level classes. Steve ------------- Dr. Steven P. Wathen Associate Professor of Chemistry Siena Heights University 1247 East Siena Heights Drive Adrian, MI 49221 (517) 264-7657 swathen**At_Symbol_Here**sienaheights.edu == From: Joanna Lynch Date: November 10, 2009 4:02:08 PM EST To: DCHAS-L Discussion List Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Any Good Chem History Books? A page of links (including ACS Chemistry History) on Dan Berger's History of Chemistry Bookmarks: http://www.bluffton.edu/~bergerd/chem/chemhist.html Also, the Chemical Heritage Foundation http://www.chemheritage.org/ has a very good Journal (free!): http://www.chemheritage.org/Publications/ChemHeritage/chemmag.htm - Joanna -- Joanna Lynch Associate Chemical Hygiene Officer Cornell University Environmental Health & Safety East Hill Office Building 395 Pine Tree Road, Suite 210 Ithaca, NY 14850 (p) 607-255-4288 (f) 607-255-8267 JL72**At_Symbol_Here**cornell.edu http://www.ehs.cornell.edu == From: "Steehler, Gail" Date: November 10, 2009 3:54:25 PM EST To: DCHAS-L Discussion List Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Any Good Chem History Books? The Art of Chemistry by Greenberg is quite nice for ancient through 19th century. It selects topics for interest, rather than systematic coverage. You could find it in libraries or get a used copy for about $25 online. The Historical Background of Chemistry by Leicester covers the same time period. It is more systematic (but perhaps less fun). You can get used copies of the Dover paperback very cheap online. I found The Periodic Table by Scerri very interesting. I used it to prepare for a National Chemistry Week talk recently. I was surprised at how much I didn't know on the topic, even after many years spent teaching about it. While not strictly a history, you might also enjoy The Elements of Murder by John Emsley. I've used tidbits from it to enliven more than one inorganic lecture. It has lots of historical context. It also has lots of hazardous materials to appeal to members of this listserv. Gail Steehler
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