Wiley: New York, 2000. 327 pp. ISBN 0-471-39455-6. $24.95.

Back in the 1660s, the quest for gold was hot. In their search for the philosopher's stone, a number of alchemists were working with urine, since its color suggested a connection to the precious metal. They all failed to produce gold, of course, but in 1669 a fellow by the name of Hennig Brandt concentrated down to a paste several gallons of putrefying urine, distilled the product, and collected under water a white, waxy substance that glowed in the dark in the presence of air: phosphorus was born! With a genesis like that, who could resist learning more about the tortuous history of this element? Enter John Emsley, who brings us, with his engaging style and bestsellers like The Elements and Molecules at an Exhibition in his resumé, a very readable account on the history of phosphorus, from its discovery to modern uses of its compounds.

The book is divided into 14 chapters. The first two describe the early days of phosphorus, from its discovery to the multiple attempts to make sizable amounts of it in the following years. Did you know that interest in the new element spread quickly as it was marketed as a universal medicine, prescribed for the treatment of asthma, tetanus, migraine, epilepsy, cholera, and even as a brain tonic and aphrodisiac? These and more recent medical uses of phosphorus or its compounds are presented in Chapter 3. The next three chapters deal with the history of safety matches and include vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions in which workers--particularly women and children--labored in the match factories of the 1880s. It is tragic to learn that ignorance (or negligence) was often the leading cause for "phossy jaw", a terrible disease that slowly and painfully disintegrated the lower jaw of a match worker. In an even more somber mood, Chapter 7 is appropriately named "Gomorrah" and relates the use of phosphorus bombs as incendiaries during World War II. Operation Gomorrah (July '43) was the Allies' code name for the bombing of Hamburg, a strategic port where most of the German U-boats were being constructed.

Chapters 8 through 13 mix the good, the bad, and the ugly of phosphorus compounds, from common poisons and deadly nerve gases (e.g., Sarin, Tabun, VX) to very useful fertilizers, detergents, flame retardants, food additives, and insecticides. Finally, if you have a flair for the esoteric (whether you are a diehard fan of The X-Files or not) you'll enjoy the last chapter. It presents some famous cases and explains the role that the generation of phosphine (PH₃) or diphosphine (P₂H₄) in the body may have in the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion. Undoubtedly the right ending for the story of a pyrophoric element! The book concludes with a section containing a list of suggestions for further reading, organized by chapter but not correlated with specific sections of the text, and a fairly detailed index.

Now that Toy and Walsh's 1987 Phosphorus Chemistry in Everyday Living is out of print and more comprehensive treatises like Corbridge's Phosphorus 2000 have an exorbitant list price of more than $500, it is refreshing to come across a book like Emsley's that is both entertaining and affordable. The book has been carefully produced and the oversimplification of some facts is justifiable in view of its intended broad audience. Fortunately, serious chemical gaffes (e.g., referring to acetic acid as a "volatile fatty acid", p 277) are rare. Overall, it was a pleasure reading The 13th Element and, given its modest price, it should be a part of every chemist's personal library. I enthusiastically recommend it to the readers of this Journal.