Book Detail

The Invention of Air

I have just finished The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson, in record time might I add. This book, in my opinion, is highly comparable to an atlas (you know, the thing we used to use before Google maps?). It starts off interesting with pretty colors and visually different land masses, then you see a giant drawing of the United States on one page and on the next page is picturesque Europe. After the initial awe, you start to flip through wondering what else will catch you eye.

Steven Berlin Johnson

Like the main character, Joseph Priestley, Steven Johnson's goal when he wrote this book, was to make you think. To generate new ideas and to share them with one another and in the process weave together a web of possibilities for the future. I believe Johnson wanted to illustrate a man who; although, may not be as well known as he deserves to be, definitely altered the way we live now.

This engaging novel is, to put it blunt, a work of genius. How creative must you be to write a historical novel that is an actual entertaining story instead of a snore-fest textbook? The story line is interesting, the characters are actual people the reader is able to relate to, and the reader is able to learn authentic knowledge he/she will hold onto for the rest of their days. For instance, Joseph Priestley was in his laboratory in Leeds and was on the brink of understanding chemical reactions in the air. He was pouring a small amount of water in between two vials and in doing so, he created what we know now as soda water.Joseph Priestley, a man hardly on the lips of humans today, invented a beloved carbonated beverage. Another life changing experiment Priestley performed was the mint plant. He took a mint plant from his garden and placed it in a fastened jar; he then put mouse after mouse into the jar and kept a log of how long the animals stayed alive. It wasn't until Priestley obtained a burning glass, much like a magnifying glass, originally the property of the Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany, that he truly founded oxygen. Priestley focused the lens on the ashes of mercury, thus creating a gas known as nitric oxide. He put this in with the plant and more mice and noticed, no matter the quantity, the rodents stayed alive longer.
He called his air dephlogisticated air. This is captivating to me because it shows first, how great things come from coincidental actions and second, how inventive our ancestors were at that period of time. We can Google absolutely anything and we are all taught about chemical reactions in school. Priestley didn't have a teacher walking him through on how to make carbon dioxide from sulfuric acid on chalk, or a guide book to show him which gases do what or how to even create the gases. The 1700's held few tools and little knowledge of how things actually worked and I think it's a very effective technique of Johnson to show the reader how one man had to overcome through such a trying time to generate thought and new ideas of how the universe functions. Or at least the atmosphere.

For the millenials, this book will engage rather than enrage you. I dare you to pick it up and accomplish reading 240 pages of insight into a world of war, science, politics, and innovation. Steven Johnson makes this book flow with his delightful imagery and colorful portrayal of how philosophers were treated back then when they tried to generate new ideas. A good read.