The Alchemy of Air

<b>A sweeping history of tragic genius cutting-edge science and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives&#151;including your own.</b><br><br> 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&#146; s scientists to find a solution. <br><br> 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. <br><br> 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. <br><br> <i>The Alchemy of Air</i> is the extraordinary previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war&#150;and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.<i><br><br> </i>