The history of chemistry is arguably one of the most challenging subjects in the history of science. Any attempt to give an account of the processes which led to the emergence of modern chemistry at the end of the nineteenth century requires historians to follow the practical and theoretical work of many historical actors who did not identify themselves as chemists, but who were artisans, practising doctors, alchemists and philosophers. The history of chemistry is therefore highly complex, and it cannot be expressed in the form of a linear and coherent narrative. Writing a concise introduction to the subject which, at the same time, should be accessible to the general reader is therefore a task which must not be underestimated. William Brock, one of the most accomplished scholars of the subject, demonstrates with this book that he is more than capable of the task. The History of Chemistry does not offer a strict and linear chronological account of the historical development of chemistry. Instead, the work is organized into six substantial chapters on six broad themes. The first three chapters follow different strands of theoretical and practical traditions of manipulating ‘stuff’, on the one hand, and theorizing about the principles of the transmutation of matter, on the other. The final three chapters describe how these various traditions resulted in the formation of chemistry as a modern scientific discipline, and how chemistry had shaped almost every aspect of human life during the twentieth century.

The first chapter, titled ‘On the nature of stuff’, traces the origins of chemistry back to the sophisticated metallurgical and glass-making practices of Graeco-Egyptian artisans, expands on the beginnings of metaphysical speculation pioneered by pre-Socratic and Aristotelian philosophers, and explores the lasting influence of the alchemical tradition. Chapter 2, ‘The analysis of stuff’, takes a closer look at some of the early systematic approaches to the study of the transmutation of matter by following Paracelsus and his school of iatrochemistry, the works of corpuscularist philosophers such as Daniel Sennert and Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton's mathematical approach toward the study of chemical affinity. Examining the mysterious realm of ‘Atoms and gases’, Chapter 3 highlights the context in which the conceptual and experimental foundations of modern chemistry were laid by Antoine Lavoisier's investigation of oxygen, and John Dalton's atomic theory and relative atomic weights. Concluding this chapter, Brock points out that the Chemical Revolution was a continuous process characterized by not only conceptual, but also significant instrumental and institutional, transformations. Chapter 4 is titled ‘Types and hexagons’, and covers the contributions of nineteenth-century organic chemists toward the creation of new models and theories of the constitution of organic substances, as well as the creation of an economically significant chemical industry. The chapter concludes by highlighting the emergence of a new order of chemistry brought about by the structure theory, a revised nomenclature and the universal symbolic language of structural formulae. Chapter 5 is called ‘Reactivity’ and elaborates on the emergence of the subdiscipline of physical chemistry. The chapter shows how scientists began to think of chemical reactions of different kinds in terms of energy and equilibrium, and to express the physical properties of substances in algebraic and geometric terms. This, together with the introduction of new techniques such as spectral analysis and mass spectrometry, has led to a better understanding of the forces that keep atoms together in a molecule, and made the study of chemistry ‘much more mathematical’ (p. 100). Focusing predominantly on the twentieth century, the final chapter, ‘Synthesis’, illustrates the ambivalent role of chemistry in helping to shape the modern world by having not only created new artificial materials and other useful substances, but also led to unforeseen ethical and environmental issues. The book concludes on an optimistic note: chemistry, according to Brock, may have created many problems, but it has also often proved to be the best means to providing a solution to them.

Concentrating on a manageable number of interrelated topics allows Brock to portray the making of modern chemistry as an eclectic yet highly fascinating process without drowning the emerging story in too many historical details, technicalities and specialist scholarly discussions. As a title within Oxford University Press's Very Short Introduction series, Brock's work is not aimed at the specialist reader. Instead, the book is written clearly for those who are approaching the subject for the very first time. Including a helpful index and a well-sorted bibliography with recommendations of further reading, the work amounts to a total length of 151 pages. The book is therefore exceptionally well suited for use in undergraduate classes within the history of science, science studies and related subjects. It is also the perfect companion to chemistry lectures and science classes. With its manageable length, it is especially appealing to chemistry students who wish to become more familiar with the history of their subject, yet rarely find the time or motivation to engage with more extensive works of literature. The only potential hurdle to uninitiated readers is that fundamental concepts, such as mechanistic philosophy of matter or underdetermined experiments, are left unexplained in the text. A short glossary with concise explanations of these key concepts would thus have made a valuable addition to this otherwise very accessible introductory work. But even without this, it is clear that Brock's book provides a concise and well-written up-to-date guide to the history of one of the most fascinating subjects in our discipline.