Caveman Chemistry: 28 Projects, from the Creation of Fire to the Production of Plastics 1St Edition Edition

by Kevin M. Dunn (Author)

32 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1581125665

ISBN-10: 1581125666

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Half a million years ago our ancestors learned to make fire from scratch. They crafted intricate tools from stone and brewed mind-altering elixirs from honey. Their descendants transformed clay into pottery, wool into clothing, and ashes into cleansers. In ceramic crucibles they won metal from rock, the metals lead to colored glazes and glass. Buildings of brick and mortar enshrined books of parchment and paper. Kings and queens demanded ever more colorful clothing and accessories in order to out-class clod-hoppers and call-girls. Kingdoms rose and fell by the power of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. And the demands of everyday folk for glass and paper and soap stimulated the first round of chemical industrialization. From sulfuric acid to sodium carbonate. From aniline dyes to analgesic drugs. From blasting powder to fertilizers and plastics. In a phrase, From Caveman to Chemist. Your guides on this journey are the four alchemical elements; Fire, Earth, Air and Water. These archetypical characters deliver first-hand accounts of the births of their respective technologies. The spirit of Fire, for example, was born in the first creature to cultivate the flame. This spirit passed from one person to another, from one generation to another, from one millennium to another, arriving at last in the pages of this book. The spirit of Earth taught folks to make tools of stone, the spirit of Air imparted knowledge of units and the spirit of Water began with the invention of spirits. Having traveled the world from age to age, who can say where they will find their next home? Perhaps they will find one in you.

Caveman Chemistry: 28 Projects, from the Creation of Fire to the Production of Plastics

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Product Details

Paperback: 428 pages
Publisher: Universal Publishers; 1St Edition edition (August 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1581125666
ISBN-13: 978-1581125665
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #159 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Experiments & Projects
- #10062 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics

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Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

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Top Customer Reviews

Terrific.

ByL. Hoyton March 14, 2005

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I'm using this book in a college chemistry class for nonscience majors. Dunn's writing is a bit eccentric, no doubt, but the projects are great and my students are engaged as never before, so--I win!

Science books that are intended to be marketed both as trade books and as textbooks generally fail at both. Often the two goals are just incompatible. Dunn has achieved something special here: he has done a nice job of resolving the conflicts between these two goals. The text is rigorous enough to be used in a general-college class, yet accessible to any interested person looking for a nifty science project (or a handbook for surviving the collapse of civilization!)...and as a bonus, it's a great read. In addition he maintains an extremely helpful website for the book; I have learned almost as much about the projects from reading the comments of his students as from reading the book, and having a central place for errata to be posted online is very convenient for my students.

I'd love to see a character in the next Mad-Max-style post-apocalypse movie pull out a copy of Caveman Chemistry and start a fire with two sticks, or make soap starting with ashes. But even if civilization survives, I will take consolation in this: with the projects in this book, we can participate in a tradition of human technology going back 500,000 years.

0Comment 60 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Eccentricity aside...

ByAmazon Customeron June 29, 2005

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As a current chemistry major with a long and sordid history of odd compounds, this book is a JOY to read even for me. It is this type of writing that truly brings "normal" non-scientific readers into the realm of the laboratory.

It is fact and procedure written in a style that is instantly comfortable and reasonably non-technical. As one reviewer stated, THIS is what required reading should be.

Everyone is worried about the "brain drain" in the US right now. If books like this were present in the arena of primary education for the last ten years, we wouldn't have anything to worry about. For people that can't immediately "dream this stuff in color" it is books like this that create a first breach in the dam that is our current bureaucratic education system.

0Comment 46 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Amazing I-dea

ByA customeron July 3, 2004

Format: Paperback

I just finished reading the book, and even though I admit I haven't gotten my hands "black with charcoal" on even a single project, this was probably the best science book I have ever read.
The author's style was weird and entertaining, the concepts were well explained (though I had to go over chapter 7 a few times).
I even learned an answer to a question I had as a child that no one knew how to answer (why did it hurt when I bit down on aluminum?).
I was truly amazed at the evolution of history of chemicals and how industries came to be built from virtually nothing - and not only that, but how you can make the same chemicals and projects at home.
I plan to read the book again and try some of the experiments.
I wish I had had a course based on this book in college, in high school, in elementary school - at any point.
In short, if you are interested in understanding the basic chemical processes in the world around you and their history, where common products you buy from the store come from and how to make them on your own, and of course, how to make fire, paper, pharmaceuticals, and explosives - then this is the book for you.

0Comment 33 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

This book should be required reading in schools

Bybrassmnkyon August 5, 2004

Format: Paperback

I had a horrible chemistry teacher in high school who made the subject pure hell for everyone in his class. Years later I began to become interested in science. Caveman Chemistry is hands down one of the best chemistry/science books on the market. It's very easy to grasp the subject matter and Dunn makes it entertaining along the way. He doesn't knock the reader over the head with formula but introduces all the "boring stuff" by relating it to hands-on projects. For a novice of chemistry or someone with no idea at all, Kevin Dunn(a true teacher and very rare breed) makes it very interesting and dare I say exciting. One of the best teaching methods I've ever read!

0Comment 17 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great book for cool projects

ByA customeron November 18, 2003

Format: Paperback

Not being a student of chemistry did not prevent me from making some awesome projects presented in this book. It gives history, method, and the chemistry behind 28 useful and fun projects. The four characters (earth, wind, fire, and water) give the book an organization that I have not seen before in a chemistry text. Also, and perhaps the most interesting, the book is full of jokes, funny stories, and song bits that keep the reader laughing and wrapped into the projects. I enjoyed the book and projects that come along with it, and would recommend it to anybody, even the non-chemistry types like myself. Enjoy!

0Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Learning Chemistry the interesting way

ByLloyd Andrew Bell IVon April 2, 2004

Format: Paperback

II took a chemistry class way back in high school and found it a complete bore. All we learned about was numbers and letters. Every once and a while the teacher would do a cool experiment like throwing liquid nitrogen on the floor but nothing really made sense. Though high school chemistry bored me to tears I still had a bit of interest in the subject so I decided to investigate. My investigation led me to this book and I have to say this book not only makes chemistry sensible but it also makes it extremely interesting and personable. Never before did I ever think that the plastic industry today was built from a gunpowder foundation. If you are at all interested by chemistry read this book and that intimidating Periodic Table of Elements will be tranformed into fire, alcohol, gunpowder, and acid. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand chemistry instead of just memorizing boring chemical equations.

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Author's hilarious personality penetrates this book!!

ByAmazon Customeron November 17, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I met the author Kevin Dunn at a soap maker's guild conference. He gave such an interesting lecture regarding chemistry that was so hilarious that I had to buy this book for my 14 year old son who was about to take High School Chemistry. (He compared chemical compounds to "nerds and cheerleaders") He read this book over the summer and WOW!! He could not put this book down. He absorbed this book like a sponge and it gave him a great advantage over the other kids in the class. Needless to say, he is "acing" chemistry class. Kevin Dunn is the coolest "nerd" I have ever met! We just purchased his book "Scientific Soapmaking".....

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

It looked so interesting at first sight. Then it ...

It looked so interesting at first sight. Then it arrived. It became Blah, Blah, Blah after the first chapter. I just had higher hopes for it.

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer

One Star

Hard to follow.

Published 2 months ago by N. Velasquez

Five Stars

Love it! Proof education can be fun.

Published 5 months ago by Andrew Ramos

I would take this book with me if I were ...

I would take this book with me if I were ever going to be on Naked and Afraid, just for the soap recipe.

Published 7 months ago by Stonebreaker

This book is FULL of annoying, unless filler stories

This book is FULL of annoying, unless filler stories. Told like a story. Annoyed my professor used it for a college level chem course. Certainly better books out there

Published 1 year ago by Laiken

It definetly goes beyond caveman

If you want a book that has everything you wanted to know about creating things this is it. You can learn how to do the basics or buy this book and go beyond what you learn at...Read more

Published 1 year ago by Katie Gould

Interesting read

Bit of a strange way to tell the story, but I like how it goes together. Haven't tried all of the projects, and I don't know that I want to keep a bunch of urine in a bottle, but...Read more

Published on June 28, 2014 by Moka

Great book, lots of practical detail

I enjoyed reading this book, and performed several of the projects. Mead comes out well. Very good explanations of distilling, oxidation, etc.

Published on May 30, 2014 by Matthew Abrams

Must read

Awesome book. Even if your not into chemistry the way it is presented in a story format makes it a must read

Published on April 15, 2014 by Isaac S.

Caveman Chemistry makes me look forward to being a caveman--a fabulous resource

I wish I'd had this book as a kid. Now, I'm retired, and I'm planning to dig into it come spring. Very very interesting.Read more

Published on December 11, 2013 by Amazon Customer

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