What is it in chocolate that makes us feel good when we eat it? What's the molecule that turns men on? What's the secret of Coca-Cola? In this book, the author takes us on a guided tour through a rogue's gallery of molecules, some harmful, some pleasant, showing how they affect our lives.

What ingredient in Coke can remove rust from chrome? What is the bitterest substance on earth? What is the worst smelling one? In this entertaining tour of chemistry, Emsley answers these and many other questions as he illuminates the materials that make up our world.

highly readable and entertaining