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Product Description
Product Description
The processes in a single living cell are akin to that of a city teeming with molecular inhabitants that move, communicate, cooperate, and compete. In this Very Short Introduction, Philip Ball explores the role of the molecule in and around us - how, for example, a single fertilized egg can grow into a multi-celled Mozart, what makes spider's silk insoluble in the morning dew, and how this molecular dynamism is being captured in the laboratory, promising to reinvent chemistry as the central creative science of the century.
About the Author
Philip Ball is a science writer and a consultant editor for Nature, where he was formerly an editor for physical science for over 10 years. He writes about all areas of science for the international press, and has broadcast on TV and radio. His previous books include Designing the Molecular World, The Self-Made Tapestry, H20: A Biography of Water and The Ingredients: A Guided Tour of the Elements . He holds a degree in chemistry from Oxford University and a doctorate in
physics from Bristol University. He lives in London, where his Homunculus Theatre Company occasionally performs on a shoestring budget.
physics from Bristol University. He lives in London, where his Homunculus Theatre Company occasionally performs on a shoestring budget.
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First Sentence
The shortest of short introductions to molecules has already been written, and is far more witty than mine. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The shortest of short introductions to molecules has already been written, and is far more witty than mine. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Molecules: A Very Short Introduction - previously sold as Stories of the Invisible: A Guided Tour of Molecules - is not so much an introduction to molecules as an introduction to biochemistry, the molecules of life. This is something Ball states from the outset, and with the boundary between chemistry and biology becoming ever more blurred, it's an understandable approach to take. We are, after all, now using natural molecules in technology as well as synthetic molecules to preserve what we deem 'natural'.
The book starts with the very basics - how atoms are joined together and why we can't 'see' them in the traditional sense, before quickly advancing to biochemistry and the complex molecules so vital to the body. As the author himself says, molecular biology is not difficult in the way that theoretical physics is difficult - the concepts are not unfamiliar, abstract or mathematically hard. The difficulty arises because there is so much going on all at once, and so many levels to the hierarchy.
So while Ball's writing is, for the most part, clear and full of personality, some of the processes he describes are unavoidably complicated and a lot to take in. As a non-specialist, I came away remembering the gist, if not all the detail. One of the reviews (Chemistry in Britain) described Ball's science as 'encyclopaedic'. That's definitely a word that springs to mind.
The choice of topics is good, and if, like me, you're new to the subject, you'll find it mind-boggling to learn just how finely-tuned our bodies are - all the checkpoints, safety mechanisms, back-up plans and careful record-keeping that occurs. Also the illustrations here are genuinely interesting and not just irrelevant ways to break up the text, as has been the case with certain other entries in this series. (Speaking of other entries, I can recommend the author's follow-up, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction.)
All in all, this is an impressive attempt by Ball to lead the non-specialist reader through a labyrinthine but vital area of science. You may not keep it all in your head, but you'll come away with a better sense of the kind of finely-tuned processes required to keep the big things functioning normally.
The book starts with the very basics - how atoms are joined together and why we can't 'see' them in the traditional sense, before quickly advancing to biochemistry and the complex molecules so vital to the body. As the author himself says, molecular biology is not difficult in the way that theoretical physics is difficult - the concepts are not unfamiliar, abstract or mathematically hard. The difficulty arises because there is so much going on all at once, and so many levels to the hierarchy.
So while Ball's writing is, for the most part, clear and full of personality, some of the processes he describes are unavoidably complicated and a lot to take in. As a non-specialist, I came away remembering the gist, if not all the detail. One of the reviews (Chemistry in Britain) described Ball's science as 'encyclopaedic'. That's definitely a word that springs to mind.
The choice of topics is good, and if, like me, you're new to the subject, you'll find it mind-boggling to learn just how finely-tuned our bodies are - all the checkpoints, safety mechanisms, back-up plans and careful record-keeping that occurs. Also the illustrations here are genuinely interesting and not just irrelevant ways to break up the text, as has been the case with certain other entries in this series. (Speaking of other entries, I can recommend the author's follow-up, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction.)
All in all, this is an impressive attempt by Ball to lead the non-specialist reader through a labyrinthine but vital area of science. You may not keep it all in your head, but you'll come away with a better sense of the kind of finely-tuned processes required to keep the big things functioning normally.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My training is in Physics, and I have not had a chance to read-up on Chemistry in a long while. I decided to read this book in order to get a better bird's eye view of what the modern Chemistry is up to these days. As such, this book was a great introduction, and brought me up to speed with some of the more recent developments. Thanks to this book and some other info I got, I was able to piece things together and figure out what some of the more advanced research in the conventional explosives is all about.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
A brief introduction to modern chemistry
9 Jan 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
My training is in Physics, and I have not had a chance to read-up on Chemistry in a long while. I decided to read this book in order to get a better bird's eye view of what the modern Chemistry is up to these days. As such, this book was a great introduction, and brought me up to speed with some of the more recent developments. Thanks to this book and some other info I got, I was able to piece things together and figure out what some of the more advanced research in the conventional explosives is all about.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Interesting, but not very educational...
11 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback
My first complaint of this book is that I think it focused too heavily on biological molecules as opposed to a more general overview. Secondly, the book just goes through and list lots and lots of different types of molecules and gives very brief descriptions of them. It doesn't actually talk about the molecular structures or the energy changes which occur as the result of the bonding or how different environments cause different types of bonds to form. There is also a huge section that basically just lists the steps of cellular respiration. There are no pictures of the structures and how they change in this process...it felt like I was in biology class, trying to memorize a list of steps with no real knowledge of the chemistry that causes them to happen. Basically, this book tells you a little bit of interesting information about some cool types of molecules, but I didn't actually learn anything that I could apply to other situations.
Topics too scattered
19 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book with high expectations - I wanted to increase my knowledge about the molecular world that makes up our Universe. Unfortunately, this book was to disorganized to be of any real use to me. The topics seemed scattered all across the book. I had to put the book down after perusing through its chapters because I realized that I was not going to increase my knowledge of chemistry by reading it.
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