Park Row, 2021. 304 pages. Nonfiction
Have you ever wondered what makes dough rise? Or how your morning coffee gives you that energy boost? Or why your shampoo is making your hair look greasy? The answer is chemistry. From the moment we wake up until the time we go to sleep (and even while we sleep), chemistry is at work—and it doesn't take a PhD in science to understand it. Biberdorf demystifies the fundamental principles of the science that may have eluded you in high school and shows how chemistry comes alive in everything we do.
I studied chemistry in university, and it's always made sense to me. I loved this crash course in the basic concepts of the field, but if I put myself in the shoes of someone who didn't "get" chemistry in high school, I fear I might have been lost after the first few chapters. Biberdorf can get a bit technical with her details, but that was no issue for me. I loved exploring the chemical principles at play in our everyday life, but it might go over some people's heads.