Chemical Century

Richard C. Sundberg, PhD, is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia and has been teaching for 50 years. He was a Fulbright Scholar (France) in 1978–79, and he was honored as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of Minnesota in 2001. He has published about 100 research papers and five monographs in the area of heterocyclic organic compounds and has directed 25 PhD theses. His past books include Advanced Organic Chemistry (all editions) (co-authored with Francis A. Carey), Springer; Indoles, Best Synthetic Methods, Academic Press, 1996; and The Chemistry of Indoles, Academic Press, 1970.

"Professor Richard Sundberg, who is well known as an author of both a widely used advanced organic chemistry text and two indole chemistry monographs, has now published The Chemical Century for the educated general public. With minimal chemical jargon and few organic chemical structures, Sundberg has woven a fascinating story of chemistry over the past 150 years. From early chemical dyes and explosives, to the structures of DNA and proteins, and to today’s medicines and pesticides, Sundberg covers an array of ubiquitous chemical topics that are regularly featured in news media and on the Internet. Importantly, his book goes far in dissipating ‘chemophobia’—the irrational fear of chemicals that has plagued the general public for decades.The Chemical Century should be on the reading list of anyone interested in learning about chemicals, both good and evil."—Dr. Gordon W. Gribble, The Dartmouth Professor of Chemistry, Hanover, New Hampshire"Professor Sundberg is well known as an educator and as co-author of the two-volume, multi-edition Advanced Organic Chemistry, a mainstay in chemistry graduate education for 40 years. He now has turned his pedagogical talents to the history of mankind from the 1800s until today through the lens of the contributions of chemistry. Readers need little chemical knowledge in order to inhale a sense of chemical research, product development, and commercialization in the 20thcentury. Sundberg nimbly weaves the themes of power (such as in the form of explosives and fuels), the manufacture of everyday things, food, drug discovery, biotechnology, and molecular biology into a story that we, our parents, and our grandparents have experienced firsthand—mankind’s advances during the past 100 years."—Jeffrey I. Seeman, Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond​"This masterful book relates the impact of chemical discovery and invention on the broad scope of twentieth-century history: upheaval in war, government and society; human and ecological health; industry and commerce; the rise and fall of nations and the quality of everyday human life. Chemical structures and equations provide depth for chemists and serve as illustrations for the more casual reader. The book’s organization and the table of contents make it easy to select particular topics of interest. The Chemical Century is a unique and valuable work: both a clearly written history of the science and a history of the century from a chemical point of view. Derived from classroom lectures at the University of Virginia, this book illustrates Dr. Sundberg’s love of teaching and his never-ending search for causation. Discovery leads to invention. Invention enables discovery as we progressed through the Chemical Century." — Peter Bukowick, Chief Operating Officer (retired), Alliant Techsystems

• POWER FROM MOLECULES. Explosives and Propellants: Power to Breach Mountains, Wage War, and Visit the Moon. Hydrocarbons as Fuels and Petrochemicals: Shaping the Past; Dominating the Present; Complicating the Future. MAKING THINGS WE USE. The Chemical Industry: An Overview. Halogenated Hydrocarbons: Persistence, Toxicity, and Problems. Polymers: Making New Materials. Household and Personal Care Products: Cleaning Up and Looking Good. Silicones: From Contact Lenses to Pavement Sealants. CHEMISTRY AND FOOD. Chemistry and Agriculture: Helping Feed the World. Chemistry, Food and the Modern Diet: What’s in Food Besides Food ?. Vitamins and Nutrition. MOLECULES FOR THE TREATMENT OF ILLNESS. Drug Discovery, Development, and Distribution. Antibiotics: The Battle with the Microbes. Analgesic, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Pyretic, and Anesthetic Drugs: Dealing with Pain, Inflammation, and Fever. Antihypertensive Drugs: Controlling Blood Pressure. Steroids: Arthritis, Fertility, Heart Attacks, and Home Run Records. Diabetes and Anti-Diabetic Therapy: Control of Glucose. Drugs For Treatment of Neurological and Psychological Conditions. Anti-Malarial and Other Anti-Parasitic Drugs. Response to the AIDS Pandemic. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS. DNA Structure, Sequencing, Synthesis, and Modification: Making Biology Molecular. Applications of Biotechnology: Biology Doing Chemistry.