The World's Greatest Fix: A History of Nitrogen and Agriculture [Hardcover]

G. J. Leigh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195165829 | ISBN-13: 978-0195165821 | Publication Date: August 19, 2004 | Edition: 1St Edition

In the tradition of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, this gives the very early history of how human ingenuity overcame the risk of famine through productive agriculture. Starting with a layman's guide to the chemistry of nitrogen fixation, the book goes on to show how humans emerged from nomadic lifestyles and began developing towns and settlements. When they for the first time began planting the same fields year after year, they noticed quickly the need to ensure soil fertility. But how? The method they came up with is still in use to this day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Leigh conveys a great deal of information in 220 pages of text, and does so in an easy-to-read, clear and accurate style. This is an altogether fine book."--Nature

"This is a detailed, scholarly, well-documented and illustrated work, intended for the layman but suitable for those interested in the history of agriculture, chemistry, and modern industry." --Choice

About the Author

G. J. Leigh is at University of Sussex (Emeritus).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1St Edition edition (August 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195165829
• ISBN-13: 978-0195165821
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,379,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An important subject, December 18, 2007

By 

A. G Primack "Master of Zen" (Hamilton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World's Greatest Fix: A History of Nitrogen and Agriculture (Hardcover)

This is an iconoclastic telling of the story of what we knew about nitrogen and when we knew it. The author tells the story of the development of the undrestanding of plant nutrition in farming, starting as far back as possible and traveling up to the modern industry of making fertilizer and explosives.
The information is entertainingly presented, but the authors quirks of presentation sometime overcome the information. Important for anyone who wants to understand the development of agriculture in history.