A review by utopiaandmelancholy
Caesar's Last Breath: The Epic Story of The Air Around Us by Sam Kean

informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

A really great tour through the air around us and our relationship with it. The information is presented in a very accessible way, and the tone is kept light despite some more challenging topics towards the end of the book. I particularly loved the stories about the lives of the scientists involved - I think it's very important for the teaching and progress of science to humanise these figures and remember that they're people and not infallible. All the stories about the gases were well-chosen and told engagingly - at some points, I was laughing out loud; at others, my jaw dropped at particular details. There was definitely a point in every chapter at which I said "It never even occurred to me to think about it like that." Overall, a fantastic popular science book: I would certainly recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in the topic or a general enthusiasm for science.
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