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65
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
77/100Critics
53/100Scholars
Author:
Dan Egan
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Date:
March 7, 2023
Phosphorus has played a critical role in some of the most lethal substances on earth: firebombs, rat poison, nerve gas. But it's also the key component of one of the most vital: fertilizer, which has sustained life for billions of people. Dan Egan investigates the past, present, and future of what has been called 'the oil of our time.'
What The Reviewers Say
A revelatory book that exposes human use of the element as a double-edged sword capable of sustaining and destroying life..
A fine account, worthy of fertile discussion, of yet another environmental disaster..
The dark history highlights the element’s overlooked centrality to human life, and Egan makes sure to counterbalance his warnings of phosphorus overuse with strategies to cope with potential shortages, including 'aggressively' recycling manure. This will ignite readers’ curiosity..
