Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson Books
Penny Le Couteur is a Canadian chemist and educator known for her engaging approach to science communication. Jay Burreson is a research chemist and co-author who has collaborated with Le Couteur to make chemistry accessible to general readers.
Known for: Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Books by Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson
Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
This book explores seventeen groups of molecules that have profoundly influenced human history, from spices and silk to explosives and antibiotics. Each chapter connects chemistry with pivotal historical events, showing how molecular structures shaped trade, warfare, medicine, and culture.
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Spices and the Age of Exploration
We begin with a taste—literally. Eugenol from cloves and cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon were once worth their weight in gold. Their distinct molecular structures give these spices their flavor and aroma, triggering a cascade of human desires that led to exploration and conquest. From the perspective o...
From Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Silk and Sericulture
Silk is another story woven by molecules. Its beauty arises from fibroin and sericin—proteins whose molecular structures create luster and strength unequaled for millennia. These proteins consist of repeating sequences of amino acids that align in crystalline patterns, granting silk its remarkable t...
From Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
About Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson
Penny Le Couteur is a Canadian chemist and educator known for her engaging approach to science communication. Jay Burreson is a research chemist and co-author who has collaborated with Le Couteur to make chemistry accessible to general readers.
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Penny Le Couteur is a Canadian chemist and educator known for her engaging approach to science communication. Jay Burreson is a research chemist and co-author who has collaborated with Le Couteur to make chemistry accessible to general readers.
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