Napoleon's Buttons Audiobook By Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson cover art

Napoleon's Buttons

17 Molecules That Changed History

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Napoleon's Buttons

By: Penny Le Couteur, Jay Burreson
Narrated by: Laural Merlington
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.62

Buy for $17.62

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

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 Tantor Chemistry History History & Philosophy Philosophy Physics Science World Medicine

Critic reviews

"Well-conceived, well-done popular science." ( Booklist)
Fascinating Historical Perspective • Educational Chemistry Content • Engaging Expressive Narrator • Intellectual Curiosity
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
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.

Needs to be required reading for science majors

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Not what I expected

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Informative and fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

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.

thoughtful and impressive

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

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.

Interesting Trivia

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Hit and miss

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Goog story poorly performed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a chemistry teacher, I was intrigued by the subject of the book. I was, however, disappointed by the reality. Many of the examples of how molecules changed history were entirely supposition. I much preferred The Disappearing Spoon and Periodic Tales for their actual history of chemicals and discovery.

And the pronunciation!!!! I almost never write a review but felt compelled to do so. Does no one with a science background oversee the production of an audiobook about science. Arrhenius' name was the most glaring mispronunciation. I can at least understand how the chemical compounds might be difficult, but Google will tell you how to pronounce Arrhenius. Just inexcusable.

Google Can Pronounce it Better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was done well; entertaining and educational. Only a couple mispronounced words, but the narrator has a nice, soothing voice. I hope they write a sequel.

Well done

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

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.

Excellent book, terrible narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews