Caesar's last breath : decoding the secrets of the air around us

Kean, Sam (author.).

Summary: A round-the-globe journey through the periodic table explains how the air people breathe reflects the world's history, tracing the origins and ingredients of the atmosphere to explain air's role in reshaping continents, steering human progress, and powering revolutions.

Record details

ISBN: 9780316381642
ISBN: 0316381640
Physical Description: print
viii, 373 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Little, Brown and Company, [2017]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-362) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: The last breath ; I: Making air : our first four atmospheres. Earth's early air ; The exploding lake ; The devil in the air ; Welding a dangerous weapon ; The curse and blessing of oxygen ; Hotter than the Dickens -- II: Harnessing air : the human relationship with air. The wonder-working gas of delight ; Le Pétomane ; Controlled chaos ; Steeling yourself for tragedy ; Into the blue ; Night lights -- III: Frontiers : the new heavens. The fallout of fallout ; Albert Einstein and the people's fridge ; Weather wars ; Rumbles from Roswell ; Putting on alien airs.