Burreson, Jay

views updated

BURRESON, Jay

PERSONAL:

Male. Education: Earned Ph.D.; postgraduate research at University of Hawaii.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Mega Tech of Oregon, 33866 Southeast Eastgate Cir., Corvallis, OR 97333; fax: 541-758-7639.

CAREER:

Worked as an industrial chemist; Mega Tech of Oregon, Corvallis, OR, currently general manager.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Institutes of Health fellowship, for the study of marine natural products at the University of Hawaii.

WRITINGS:

(With Penny Cameron Le Couteur) Napoleon's Buttons: How Seventeen Molecules Changed History, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the tin buttons on the uniforms of Napoleon's army became brittle in the cold Russian winter, and their disintegration contributed to Napoleon's defeat. Industrial chemist Jay Burreson and chemistry professor Penny Cameron Le Couteur use this bit of history as a jumping-off point for their Napoleon's Buttons: How Seventeen Molecules Changed History. They write about seventeen instances in which molecules, or groups of molecules, natural and synthetic, impacted the course of history.

The authors write of explorations generated in search of spices like cloves and nutmeg and how the discovery of ascorbic acid—vitamin C—enabled powerful nations to launch the long voyages that enlarged and enriched their empires. Wars were changed forever with the discovery of gunpowder and other explosives, as was fashion with the development of nylon. The use of addictive chemicals like caffeine, nicotine, and morphine are studied, as well as chemical substances like DDT, which has been outlawed for its hazardous side effects, but which effectively eradicates malaria-carrying mosquitoes. A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that the authors "unearth a wealth of anecdotes from all parts of the world and use them effectively to illustrate the technological underpinnings of modern society."

American Scientist writer David Goodstein noted that hydrocarbons are not discussed and said that "surely oil is as important as any substance on Earth to our recent history. The reason they were omitted seems obvious: Hydrocarbons may be important historically, but they aren't very interesting chemically. That's an important clue to what this book is really about." Goodstein added that "for this physicist, reading Napoleon's Buttons was like being a kid accidentally locked overnight in a candy store. The treats? Lots of neat chemistry that I should have known but didn't (having had awful college chemistry teachers), a whole bunch of entertaining anecdotes, and not a few breathtaking historical generalizations." The reviewer concluded, "The book is great fun to read."