Description: Drawing on alchemical theory, Édouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent set out to find the vital essence of life through the craft of perfumes. While drawing the ire of enlightened Bohemian Paris, they discovered fundamental differences in the structures of naturally occurring and synthetic molecules, inaugurating a persistent scientific mystery.
Brief description: Theresa Levitt is the Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Professor of History at the University of Mississippi. She is the author of A Short Bright Flash and The Shadow of Enlightenment.
Review Quotes: A robust package of information written by a historian comfortable inhabiting the past but writing for the present.--Laura A. Macaluso "Fulbright Chronicles" (9/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)