Really disjointed and jarringly edited in some places. Went from "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" type of history, and would then make a sudden jump to another event without any real transition. Don't know if this was the writer or the editor, but it doesn't really matter. I need to look elsewhere for a biography of Lavoisier.

(Also, one of my pet peeves: there were sections/poems in the original French, with no translation into English.) ( )

A pretty basic overview of Lavoisier's scientific accomplishments, placing him in proper context. Like others in this series this book may just not offer enough space for a complete look. Bell's analysis is interesting, but would have benefited greatly from more images (he discusses images in the text quite often, but those in the book are few and poorly reproduced). ( )

There is supposedly a Chinese curse, "May he live in interesting times". While the origin of this phrase is apparently not really in China, it certainly applies to the life of one of the first modern chemists. Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier was a French nobleman who lived from 1743 until he was beheaded in 1794. He is given credit for the first statement of the law of conservation of mass, which was possible only after his careful studies of the chemistry of gases. He recognized and isolated both oxygen and hydrogen, was instrumental in discrediting the theory of phlogiston, and he introduced the metric system. One might guess that, had it not been for Lavoisier, current chemistry textbooks would only be about fifteen pages long. What got him beheaded was his involvement in pre-revolutionary French economics and politics, in which he was involved up to his ears. The author of this history is best-known for his novels (none of which I have read), but he uses writing skills to good effect here, and I did not notice any big errors (but I'm just an amateur in chemical history). ( )

A decent look at the life of an interesting man, the great Antoine Lavoisier, rightly considered the father of modern chemistry. The book focuses specifically on the last year of Lavoisier's life, just before he lost his head on the guillotine, but does cover a great deal of ground previously to explain his ideas and the development of them, focusing in particular on his dethroning of the idea of phlogistan. Althogh the author addresses his scientific discoveries, and the principles he lived and worked by, this is as much an exploration of poltiical crises and how Lavoisier came to be entangled with the Terror in Revolutionary France., as it is a scientific treatise. Overall, it's well worth the time to read, and it's an easy read, to boot. The author writes in short sentences and a very down to earth style which can at times be discomfiting, as it seems to unduly simplify a complex subject. ( )

A Coleção Grandes Descobertas narra a gênese dos maiores avanços da ciência através da história dos cientistas que mudaram a nossa visão do mundo. Ao final do século XVIII, a química ainda estava impregnada pela alquimia medieval, e a maioria dos estudiosos acreditava que o flogístico fosse um dos responsáveis pela combustão. Foi então que o francês Antoine Lavoisier libertou a química de seu invólucro fantasmagórico, criando uma linguagem científica para denominar os compostos e elementos químicos e substituindo o conceito de flogístico pelo de ar atmosférico, feito de oxigênio e outros gases. Em 'Lavoisier no ano um', Madison Smartt Bell acompanha a carreira do renomado cientista para traçar a história da química desde os seus primórdios, culminando na 'corrida' entre Lavoisier e seus contemporâneos para identificar os processos da combustão. O autor põe as descobertas de Lavoisier no contexto da Revolução Francesa - seu principal tratado químico foi publicado pouco antes da queda da Bastilha, em 1789. E descreve como, ao mesmo tempo em que disputava a 'paternidade' e a aceitação de suas teorias, Lavoisier se envolvia com a arrecadação de tributos do governo de Luís XVI, atividade que acabou lhe custando a cabeça durante o Terror jacobino.