Napoleon's Buttons
17 Molecules That Changed History
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Narrated by:
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Laural Merlington
About this listen
Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of 17 groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance - which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.
With lively prose and an eye for colorful and unusual details, Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson offer a novel way to understand the shaping of civilization and the workings of our contemporary world.
©2003 Micron Geological Ltd and Jay Burreson (P)2011 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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In Mycophilia, accomplished food writer and cookbook author Eugenia Bone examines the role of fungi as exotic delicacy, curative, poison, and hallucinogen, and ultimately discovers that a greater understanding of fungi is key to facing many challenges of the 21st century.
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Absolutely awful, insufferable, racist author
- By Rs 🦇 on 11-25-19
By: Eugenia Bone
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Missing Microbes
- How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues
- By: Martin J. Blaser
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin J. Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome, where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances-antibiotics-threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences.
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Very enlightening and information well supported
- By James on 05-03-15
By: Martin J. Blaser
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Chris Beat Cancer
- A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally
- By: Chris Wark
- Narrated by: Chris Wark
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Two days before Christmas and at 26 years old, Chris Wark was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He had surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumor and a third of his colon. But after surgery, instead of the traditional chemotherapy, Wark decided to radically change his diet and lifestyle in order to promote health and healing in his body. In Chris Beat Cancer, Wark describes his healing journey, exposes the corruption and ineffectiveness of the medical and cancer industries, and shares the strategies that he and many others have used to heal cancer.
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sale's pitch
- By Tim Havens on 10-16-19
By: Chris Wark
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The Fat Switch
- By: Richard J. Johnson MD
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
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If you've ever struggled with losing weight and keeping it off, I don't have to tell you it's a challenge. You already know. What if losing weight could be as easy as flipping a switch? I know that sounds incredible. But now there's an abundance of research telling us that may be possible. In his new book, The Fat Switch, Dr. Richard J. Johnson, presents news-breaking, science-based studies that will reverse current thinking on both the cause and treatment of obesity.
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Want to understand weight gain?
- By Programming Dragon on 02-01-16
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Quackery
- A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything
- By: Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
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What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine - yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison - was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices.
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Computer-generated Narrator. Dated Humour.
- By Nemo on 12-28-18
By: Lydia Kang, and others
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Happy Accidents
- Serendipity in Major Medical Breakthroughs in the Twentieth Century
- By: Morton A. Meyers
- Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
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Happy Accidents is a fascinating, entertaining, and highly accessible look at the surprising role serendipity has played in some of the most important medical discoveries in the 20th century. What do penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear, and Viagra have in common? They were each discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in the search for something else. In discussing medical breakthroughs, Dr. Morton Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, rather than purely linear, approach to science. And it may just save our lives!
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Don't waste your money!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-20-16
By: Morton A. Meyers
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The Science of Cheese
- By: Michael H. Tunick
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
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In an engaging tour of the science and history of cheese, Michael Tunick explores the art of cheese making, the science that lies underneath the deliciousness, and the history behind how humanity came up with one of its most varied and versatile of foods. Dr. Tunick spends his everyday deep within the halls of the science of cheese, as a researcher who creates new dairy products, primarily, cheeses.
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Science, Humor, Education and Brilliance
- By Mr.CS on 01-05-15
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Denialism
- How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives
- By: Michael Specter
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
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New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter has twice won the Global Health Council’s Excellence in Media Award, as well as the Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Denialism, he fervently argues that people are turning away from new technologies and engaging in a kind of magical thinking that is hindering scientific progress.
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A compelling read
- By S on 05-17-11
By: Michael Specter
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The Vertical Farm
- Feeding the World in the 21st Century
- By: Dickson Despommier
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
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When Columbia professor Dickson Despommier set out to solve America's food, water, and energy crises, he didn't just think big - he thought up. The vertical farm has excited scientists, architects, and politicians around the globe. These farms, grown inside skyscrapers, would provide solutions to many of the serious problems we currently face.
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Excellent Brainstorming - Not reality
- By Texas Community Project on 01-25-11
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Teaming with Nutrients
- The Organic Gardener's Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition
- By: Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
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Most gardeners realize that plants need to be fed but know little to nothing about the nature of the nutrients involved or how they get into plants. Teaming with Nutrients explains how nutrients move into plants and what both macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients do once inside. It shows organic gardeners how to provide these essentials.
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Wow, narrator can't even pronounce nucleus.
- By Jerry Bradley on 06-25-20
By: Jeff Lowenfels, and others
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What listeners say about Napoleon's Buttons
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Justine Javior
- 08-20-21
Needs to be required reading for science majors
Once you get passed the very mechanical sounding narration, this book is an absolute gem. I would recommend it to anyone who loves learning about the world around them as well as those who are in college studying science. This book really helps to make chemistry more approachable and memorable.
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- Daniel B.
- 04-22-17
Not what I expected
Still a very interesting read. I am better for it. Highly recommend to fill in what really matters in history. It ain't what they tell you. It is much more interesting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Copacati
- 12-28-11
Informative and fascinating
Unlike the previous reviewer I found this to be a more interesting book than ???The Disappearing Spoon???. Both are very good books, but I did learn a lot more from this book. A lot of knowledge is imparted through interesting stories with good narration. The authors do, perhaps, get a little more into the slavery issue than the book requires, but it is brief and in no way detracted from the chemical stories for me. It is not like they were preaching. I liked the book enough to listen again to get what I probably missed due to listening while driving. I highly recommend this book.
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- Grace
- 03-06-12
thoughtful and impressive
If you could sum up Napoleon's Buttons in three words, what would they be?
Great read, fabulous info, good narrative, history we never get in school.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Napoleon's Buttons?
The tin button fell apart under severe winter condition causing Napoleon's defeat - how simple.
Any additional comments?
Not recommended read for simpletons devoid of education in sciences, history and deprived of intellectual curiosity, I believe.
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- Fran46
- 02-08-15
Interesting Trivia
Would you listen to Napoleon's Buttons again? Why?
Not really...so many books, so little time. I did find it interesting; however, I wish my knowledge of chemistry were more extensive.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked how history turned on some interesting chemical discoveries.
What does Laural Merlington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She is a very engaging and expressive narrator.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
If I were on a long road trip as a passenger, Yes. Otherwise, I like to listen to one lecture per day.
Any additional comments?
A person with a solid chemistry background would really enjoy this book.
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- Toofer
- 06-03-22
Hit and miss
The book made some interesting connections however it suffered from hopping around. At the end of each chapter there would be a clean up section where they would briefly mention various other detail it's from history regarding the subject matter. I was not a fan of these as it was an extension of the hopping around issue. I had just come from reading Liquid Rules and the subjects flowed much better. I was not a huge fan of the narration though it was ok.
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- Sarah Carroll
- 11-04-16
Excellent book, terrible narration
Would you try another book from Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson and/or Laural Merlington?
The first time a term was read, it would usually be done correctly, but after that it would nearly always be pronounced incorrectly. Not to mention the number of terms that were never pronounced correctly at all. Really should have had one of the authors read, or at least be there during the recording, since no organic chemist that I know of would have let that number of glaring mistakes slide.
How could the performance have been better?
Narration clearly done by someone without a science background who had no idea how to pronounce more than half of the technical terms in the text.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Healthy Mazie
- 11-21-19
Bring chemistry into my world
I loved the bridge between history and daily living today that was created. It was great !
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- Brian R.
- 03-06-17
great book
I read this book back in college and enjoyed going back to it. the chemistry language was hard to follow for anyone else listening but was fine for anyone with some organic chemistry background
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- Tim Coley
- 06-29-15
Goog story poorly performed
I had to cringe at the all too frequent mispronunciations. one would think that a narrator would seek guidance from someone who is familiar with this language before producing this recording. Using the propper language in chemistry is vitally important to understanding structure. This was a big failure on the part of the narrator.
The story was well written and had a good thesis.
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11 people found this helpful