Joseph Priestley

  (out of 5 stars)

The history in A World on Fire centers on two men whose scientific curiousity led them to discover vital new clues about the air we breath and eventually, oxygen. Joseph Priestley, a British minister, and Antoine Lavoisier, a French aristocrat, worked independent of each other, and often fed off (or directly challenged) each other's work to drive forward in the search for the components of breathable and combustable air. Lavoisier's work sparked the Chemical Revolution even as Priestley fought stidently for a theory ('phlogiston') that quickly began to lose favor with chemists.

This book is not deep with science, though there are a few very basic formulas and descriptions of methodology. The narrative instead focuses largely on the setting and context of the discoveries made by the two men. Revolution in France and America, as well as the madness of King George in Britain and the fall of the monarchy in France led to a unique atmosphere in which this scientific story progressed.

As a history of scientists, this book is an easy read and one that is both enlightening and enjoyable. My primary complaint, and the reason for a 3/5 star review, is the author's insistence in placing his own speculation into the story. Many instances of 'One might imagine...' or 'It isn't hard to believe...' or 'Perhaps he saw...'. This is a major turn off for me in book on history. This doesn't greatly detract from the value of the book and its story, but it does make the reader wonder which facts are documented and which the author has chosen to include despite flimsy or non-existent evidence.