
The Invention of Air
An experiment, a journey, a new country and the amazing force of scientific discovery
Stephen T. Johnson(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 29. October 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-14-104435-4 (ISBN)
Description
From the bestselling author of Everything Bad is Good for You, Steven Johnson's The Invention of Air tells the incredible story of scientist and radical Joseph Priestley, who invented soda water, discovered oxygen, and incited rioting with his political views.
In 1794, Joseph Priestley - amateur scientist, ordained minister and radical thinker - set sail for America to escape persecution. Steven Johnson tells his incredible story: the discovery of oxygen, the invention of a science, the founding of a church, and, with the great minds of his time, the development of the United States itself. But Priestley's revolutionary ideas put him in terrible danger.
Johnson uses the progress of Priestley and his colleagues not merely to describe the wonder of discovery, but to show us how we have come to understand the world, how far we have travelled with the power of human enquiry - and how one man's curiosity can help build an entire country.
'A shot of the purest oxygen'
Simon Winchester
'Packed with excellent stuff'
Russell Davies
'Entertaining ... clear-sighted and intelligent'
New Yorker
'As full of ingenuity and as delightful as its subject'
Financial Times
'Brilliant'
The New York Times
'Johnson paints Priestley not as a man of the past but precisely the sort of figure the world needs more than ever'
New York Post
Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You, Mind Wide Open, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Ghost Map, Emergence and Interface Culture. His writing appeared in the Guardian, the New Yorker, Nation and Harper's, as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at NYU's School Of Journalism, and a Contributing Editor to Wired.
In 1794, Joseph Priestley - amateur scientist, ordained minister and radical thinker - set sail for America to escape persecution. Steven Johnson tells his incredible story: the discovery of oxygen, the invention of a science, the founding of a church, and, with the great minds of his time, the development of the United States itself. But Priestley's revolutionary ideas put him in terrible danger.
Johnson uses the progress of Priestley and his colleagues not merely to describe the wonder of discovery, but to show us how we have come to understand the world, how far we have travelled with the power of human enquiry - and how one man's curiosity can help build an entire country.
'A shot of the purest oxygen'
Simon Winchester
'Packed with excellent stuff'
Russell Davies
'Entertaining ... clear-sighted and intelligent'
New Yorker
'As full of ingenuity and as delightful as its subject'
Financial Times
'Brilliant'
The New York Times
'Johnson paints Priestley not as a man of the past but precisely the sort of figure the world needs more than ever'
New York Post
Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You, Mind Wide Open, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Ghost Map, Emergence and Interface Culture. His writing appeared in the Guardian, the New Yorker, Nation and Harper's, as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at NYU's School Of Journalism, and a Contributing Editor to Wired.
Reviews / Votes
A shot of the purest oxygen * Simon Winchester * It fizzes -- John Gapper * FT * Entertaining ... clear-sighted and intelligent * The New Yorker * [Johnson is] an infectiously exciting writer ... The Invention of Air is delightful to read * Salon * Packed with excellent stuff * Russell Davies * Johnson paints Priestley not as a man of the past but precisely the sort of figure the world needs more than ever * New York Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
323 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-104435-4 (9780141044354)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Stephen T. Johnson
The Invention of Air
An experiment, a journey, a new country and the amazing force of scientific discovery
E-Book
10/2009
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You (described as a 'must read' by Mark Thompson, head of the BBC), The Ghost Map, Mind Wide Open, Emergence and Interface Culture. His writing appeared in the Guardian, the New Yorker, Nation and Harper's, as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is also the co-creator of several influential web sites: FEED, Plastic, and Outside.in. He has degrees in Semiotics and English Literature from Brown and Columbia Universities. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three sons.