The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Discovery That Changed the Course of History by Thomas HagerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pulling nitrogen from the air -- "fixing" nitrogen -- to feed the world and destroy at least parts of it from explosives has long intrigued me. Much of that industro-chemical story is here while this book is really more a biography of the alchemist-like "Jewish Genius" Fritz Haber. Not only did he pull nitrogen from the air, but he brought poison gas into Germany's side in WW I and then tried to pull gold from the sea and as vainly resisted Nazi anti-Semitic laws. Also between the Wars, he From 1919 to 1923 continued to be involved in Germany's secret development of chemical weapons. He seemed to be a proud, innovative, visionary, misguided patriot.
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