From Library Journal
Ball's experience as a science writer (Designing the Molecular World) and a consulting editor to Nature shows through in this multifaceted "biography" of water. The title might lead some readers to believe that the focus will be on biology, but this engaging work examines this deceptively simple compound in terms of astronomy, geology, natural philosophy, climatology, physics, and chemistry as well. Indeed, Ball does an excellent job of explaining how the physical and chemical peculiarities of water give rise to its unique properties, which make life on Earth possible. There is even a chapter on missteps taken in the study of water, such as polywater and cold fusion. Ball concludes his book with an epilog on water as an ecological resource. The author doesn't let the scientific nature of the topic overwhelm the reader; cartoons and analogies make complex concepts accessible to novices. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
-Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Libs., OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ball stands in inquisitive awe of water and forcefully imparts his wonder at the chemical's uniqueness. He opens with the story of water's geological activities, from the hydrologic cycle to ocean currents to erosion and sedimentation. He detours to the other bodies in our solar system on which water has been detected (they include even the sun), then returns to Earth to discuss the prescientific concept of water as an element and what modern chemistry, thanks to the advances of Priestley and Lavoisier, revealed it to be: a compound of oxygen and hydrogen. Ball delves into the peculiarities--the water molecule's boomerang shape and electrical polarity--that make water perform such feats as forming several types of ice and dissolving almost anything. As for water's crucial function in cell structure and metabolism, Ball clearly explains how water's distinctive chemistry probably begot photosynthesis and cell membranes. A discussion of recent research into water, including the cold-fusion fiasco, concludes this fascinating "portrait" of a most interesting "player" in life per se and in each human life. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"...He has handled his incredibly complex scientific brief more skillfully and more entertainingly than anybody else could have done." -- Anna Paterson, Sunday Herald [Glasgow]
"...The author's panoramic knowledge, conveyed through a clear and often delightful writing style, makes attractive reading." -- Frank H. Stillinger, Nature
"...one of the best science books of the year...Ball makes us look afresh at the most commonplace substance imaginable..." -- Graham Farmelo, New Scientist
"Encyclopedic...Ball's prose is lively, and he renders the most arcane-sounding phenomena...understandable." -- Christine Kenneally, The New York Times Book Review, December 10, 2000
A saga awash in history, science and detail...marvelous. -- Scott LaFee, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 9, 2000
A tour de force of scientific exposition...fascinating. -- Harvey Shepard, The Inquirer, August 13, 2000
An absorbing scientific treatise. -- Gilbert Lewthwaite, The Sun, Baltimore, July 23, 2000
Like John McPhee's books on American geology, it's an extraordinarily comprehensive volume of natural science, written in a confident ... fluid style. -- Susan Adams, Forbes Life, July 24, 2000
About the Author
Philip Ball majored in chemistry at the University of Oxford and received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Bristol. He worked for ten years as an editor at Nature, where he is now a writer and consulting editor. Ball is the author of Designing the Molecular World: Chemistry at the Frontier, Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century, and The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature. He lives in London.
From The Washington Post
For the hard science of water, as well as a sustained, bravura performance by a gifted explicator ... is well worth dipping into.
