Customer Reviews

The sun chemist

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Fascinating spy story about the search for a long missing (stolen ? I can't remember) chemical formula, developed by the late Chaim Weizmann (a chemist who became the first president of Israel), which has the potential to make petroleum out of sweet potatoes -- and thereby completely change the world, shifting wealth and power from the oil rich Arabia to impoverished Africa. Yes, it is "dated" in the sense that the plot is clearly influenced by the 1973 oil boycott. But if you like reading other "dated" mysteries, i.e., those whose plots no longer reflect present worries -- Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear (haunted by the Nazi menace), John Buchan's 39 Steps (German infiltration of England in WWI), the whole medley of cold war thrillers of Eric Ambler and indeed some of the early John le Carré-- that should not put you off of this well-written, well-plotted romp.

I couldn't finish this book. It took about 80 pages to be able to get my head around what was happening, but either because of that or for other reasons, I didn't care about anyone in the story. An interesting premise, and piqued my interest about Chaim Weizmann.

The subject seemed intriguing, but I simply could not read more than 20 pages... I still love this author, and may just reread his other books to recapture my delight with his stories.

This book is sadly out of print. Written in 1976, after the first oil crisis, it describes the travail of high global oil prices. One of the characters is a Jewish chemist who apparently discovers a way to get cheap oil via solar energy, in the form of photosynthesis, if I recall correctly. One motivation is to reduce the dangers to Israel from hostile Arab neighbours, who are garnering huge oil revenues.

The story is written as a spy thriller, with several scenes in Israel. I shan't give away the conclusion, but suffice to remark that the book shows Davidson's typical skill. Compared to Fleming's works, it is more cerebral. No spectacular high speed chases etc. Which is perhaps why the book was never a big hit when it came out, and has not been reprinted.

I loved this book which details the personal ascent of Chaim Weizmann organic chemist, Zionist and long-time president of Israel who directed the Weizmann institute in Rehovot. The story is a thriller, but that's not the satisfying part. I enjoyed the descriptions of Chaimchik's presidential mansion, the layout of the institute, the threads of lost research conclusions. Lionel Davidson is an excellent prose writer with clear, resounding descriptions animating the feeling of London, Israel and the early 20th century.

I recommend this, in fact I wrote so many notes that I am buying a second copy. Also, check out Davidson's other books on Israel, Tibet, Siberia, England, Scotland, etc.