Includes bibliographical references and index.

Most people remember chemistry from their schooldays as a subject that was largely incomprehensible, fact-rich but understanding-poor, smelly, and so far removed from the real world of events and pleasures that there seemed little point, except for the most introverted, in coming to terms with its grubby concepts, spells, recipes, and rules. The author wants to change all that. In this book he encourages us to look at chemistry anew, through a chemist's eyes, to understand its central concepts and to see how it contributes not only towards our material comfort, but also to human culture. Here he sets out the basic principles of chemistry and celebrates its great achievements. Its harmful products, such as pollution, are recognized, but the solutions he shows, also frequently lie in chemistry.

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