A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World [Hardcover]

Stephen R. Bown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005 | ISBN-10: 031232913X | ISBN-13: 978-0312329136 | Edition: First Edition

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel's discovery of dynamite made possible the famous industrial megaprojects that transformed the countryside and defined the era, including the St. Gothard rail tunnel through the Alps, the clearing of New York harbor, the Panama Canal, and countless others. Dynamite also caused terrible injuries and great loss of life, and, in some cases, incalculable and irreparable environmental damage. Nobel was one of the richest men in a society rapidly transforming under the power of his invention, but with a troubled conscience, he left his estate to the establishment of the world-famous prizes that bear his name.

 

As the use of explosives soared and growing populations consumed more food, nations scrambled for the scarce yet vital organic ingredient needed for both. The quest for nitrates takes us from the rural stables and privies of preindustrial Europe to the monopoly trading plantations in India and to the Atacama Desert in South America. Nitrates were as valuable in the nineteenth century as oil is in the twenty-first and were the cause of similar international jockeying and power politics.

 

The "nitrogen problem" of creating inorganic nitrates was solved by an enigmatic German scientist named Fritz Haber. His breakthrough not only prolonged the First World War but became the foundation of the green revolution and the tripling of world population since then. Haber is also known as the "father of gas warfare" for his work on poison gas. When he was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in chemistry, it sparked international outrage and condemnation.

 

A Most Damnable Invention is a human tale of scientific obsession, shadowy immorality, and historical irony, and a testament to the capacity for human ingenuity during times of war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bown follows his well-received Scurvy with another sedulously researched and well-written popular history. He's particularly good at penning provocative theories that link seemingly modest events to monumental changes in the course of history. For example, prior to the Franco-Prussian War, the French government, unlike Prussia, refused to allow its munitions experts to develop weaponry utilizing Alfred Nobel's powerful new explosive, dynamite. The result, according to Bown, was a humiliating defeat that forced the French to submit to onerous treaty terms that helped set the stage for WWI. Bown's knowledge of his subject is impressive, and he has interesting things to say about the science and scientists central to the development of explosives; the role these explosives played in Japan, China and India; and positive changes facilitated by the use of high explosives in mining and construction. Bown also has a good eye for the unintended consequences, ironies and contradictions that are the product of social and technological forces of great magnitude. That Alfred Nobel used the proceeds of his vast munitions fortune to fund the Nobel Prizes is perhaps the ultimate example. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A science and military historian of proven worth (see Scurvy, 2004) turns his discerning attention to Alfred Nobel and the discovery of dynamite. That discovery solved the problem of using the enormously powerful explosive nitroglycerine safely by compounding it with other elements that discouraged its tendency to go off should somebody in the immediate vicinity sneeze. The new and powerful explosive proved invaluable in the construction of the modern world and also launched a quest for more potent chemical explosives that consisted of seeking out further natural and later synthetic nitrates. Nobel, horror-struck by that reaction to his concoction, compensatorily founded the prizes that bear his name. Yet to this day, developments that win the prizes for physics, chemistry, and biology sometimes show up in weapons laboratories. This excellent addition to the history of science, military history, and the history of human progress as one of accidents and good intentions deserves a much bigger audience than its focus might lead one to expect. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031232913X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312329136
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an award-winning author of historical non-fiction with seven books to my credit (and an eighth book almost completed). My book Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail was an international critical success and was selected as one of the Globe and Mail's Top 100 books of 2004. A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates and the Making of the Modern World, was included in the Scientific American Book Club, the History Book Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club as well as being shortlisted for two awards. My next book, Madness, Betrayal and the Lash: The Epic Voyage of Captain George Vancouver, was shortlisted for the Canadian Authors' Association's Lela Common Award for Canadian History and won the 2009 B.C. Book Prize Booksellers' Choice Award. The book received excellent reviews and the one star rating here is mystifying and also inaccurate and misleading (all the four and five star customer reviews appear on amazon.ca).

After the publication of Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, I received a phone call from The Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada, telling me how much he enjoyed the book. He stayed up all night reading it, but he said the lost sleep was worth it.

My latest book is 1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Half. It was released in August 2011 in Canada and will be released in February 2012 in the United States.

1494 tells the true story involving a corrupt pope - Rodrigo Borgia, the patriarch of the family fictionalized in the hit Showtime series The Borgias - in an explosive feud between monarchs, clergy and explorers that split the globe between Spain and Portugal and made the world's oceans a battleground.

My author facebook page is www.facebook.com/srbown on which I post interesting historical tidbits related to my writing several times per week. I also have an author website which has a complete list of reviews: www.stephenrbown.net

I live in a small town in the Rocky Mountains with my wife Nicky and two children. When I'm not writing I'm usually reading, mountain biking, hiking and camping in the summer, and downhill and cross country skiing in the winter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Information.... Oddly Put Together, October 31, 2005

By 

G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World (Hardcover)

There is much interesting information presented in this book. The topic of explosives is discussed from earliest times to essentially the end of World War I. The contributions of Alfred Nobel are particularly prominent, as are those of Fritz Haber towards the end of the book. The author's focus is mainly on the historical, political and sociological aspects rather than the technical and scientific details of the various inventions - in other words, no detailed recipes or chemical formulas of explosives are provided. The only aspect of this book with which I had some difficulty is its timeline which is rather erratic. The author zigzags from medieval times to the nineteenth century, then back to olden times then back again to more modern times, etc. Other than possibly being somewhat annoying for some readers, this format has resulted in a certain amount of repetition of some of the facts. Nevertheless, this odd quirk does not detract from the fact that the book does contain much very interesting information. It should be of great interest to history buffs, particularly those interested in the history of science and technology.

5.0 out of 5 stars More bang for the buck!!, April 14, 2009

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent combination of many things: History,Biography,Business,Politics,Warfare,Sociology,Science,Advancementof Civilization,Human Nature,Greed,Oppression,Philanthrophy.Loneliness,Failure,Success,and even much more.

The author covers the development of explosives from its earliest days to modern times,or at least up to pre nuclear times.

A large part of the book centers around the life and work of Alfred Nobel,why he experimented with explosives ,and how he invented Dynamite. Of course, inventions that promise an advantage in military power,great riches ,and particularly useful in making huge construction or destruction possible;will naturally have far reaching implications. These implications are well detailed and explained throughout the book.However;whenever mankind finds a new, valuable and limited resourse ;conflicts occur in its control;eventually the supply becomes scarce and an alternative is searched for. When the naturally occuring sources of nitrates can't keep up with the demand;then along comes a person who is nohere as well known in history as Nobel,Fritz Haber,who develops methods to manufacture synthetic nitrogen and whole new worlds of advancement open up.While explosives,more often than not,thought of as warfare weapons ;the discovery of synthetic nitrogen,changed the world's food production with its ability to provide cheap,and highly efficient fertilizer for growing crops.While, with every advancement,there are also unforseen problems.In this case, great advancement in food supplying ,came great advances in population.Now the earth has a population of over 6 billion where prior to the discovery of synthetic Nitrogen it was about 2 billion.Along with that,since the crops absorbe only a small amount of these "artificial" fertilizers,the rest end up in oceans and rivers,creating huge,uncontrolled growth in algae and its accompanying problems.

Another part of the book covers what Nobel did with the huge fortunes his discovery brought to him.He had no family,and left almost everything to fund the Nobel Foundation that awards prizes we have all come to hear about.

In a way this book really looks at the great discoveries and advncement in civilization and wonders is it all really for the best. Mankind has always wondered this, and will continue to discover and ,advance and wonder.I guess the answer lies in the fact that ,despite the problems that come with advancement;they are never enough to turn back.

Mankind has learned to live with the advancements made with Gunpowder and Dynamite; will we also learn to manage Nuclear Energy as well?

Overall a very interesting and thought provoking book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Damnable Invention, November 17, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book. Very well written and explanatory. I was never bored by a continuos or lengthy explanation.