Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Save Time and Money Through Chemistry Ken Carpenter. Useful Chemistry Publishing: Dayton, OH, 1997. 261 pp. Figs. and tables. ISBN: 0 9655667 1 4. $24.95 (soft cover only).
Would you like to learn about the 5 W’s of everyday chemistry and chemicals? Who(m) should you see to learn to identify and appraise jewelry? What should you eat for breakfast? When should you get up from your sleep? Where is cholesterol in the human body? Why do pool owners add hydrochloric acid? Then read Save Time and Money through Chemistry, by Ken Carpenter. This book is loaded with practical and useful chemistry information that every person who took chemistry in high school or college wishes he or she had been introduced or exposed to. I know I do. Throughout the nine chapters of this book, the author explores the many, many uses of chemistry in our daily lives. A few of the topics discussed are food, health, cars, detergents, coins, batteries, and synthetic diamonds. The information on each topic is presented in a brief, nontechnical, and lively man-
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ner. The author manages to scatter several personal humorous comments throughout the book. The overarching purpose of the book is to allow the reader to acquire enough chemistry knowledge to help him or her make sound and wise decisions about using, buying (price-comparison shopping), and investing in everyday chemicals and chemical products. The 66-page combined chemical glossary and index section is well written and is a definite plus, especially for beginning chemistry students. This unique book with its catchy title attracted me to read it from beginning to end in one sitting. I believe that chemists and nonchemists alike would enjoy reading this book. All would come to appreciate the many timesaving and especially the many money-saving tidbits of information about everyday chemistry that are mentioned. The book can also serve as a general reference about the chemistry that is all around us. Al Hazari Department of Chemistry University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 1 January 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
