The alchemy of air - Thomas Hager

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

At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global
disaster: Mass starvation 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 men who found it:
brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together
they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved
millions of lives.

But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying.
The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed
millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both,
disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically.

The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary,
previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the
way we make war-and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and
dramatic ways.