Alchemy of Air

<b>A sweeping history of tragic genius cutting-edge science and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives--including your own.</b> <p/> 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. <p/> 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. <p/> 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. <p/> <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-and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.<i> <p/> </i>