Caveman Chemistry: 28 Projects, from the Creation of Fire to the Production of Plastics

I'm using this book in a college chemistry class for nonscience majors. Dunn's writing is a bit eccentric, no doubt, but the projects are great and my students are engaged as never before, so--I win! Science books that are intended to be marketed both as trade books and as textbooks generally fail at both. Often the two goals are just incompatible. Dunn has achieved something special here: he has done a nice job of resolving the conflicts between these two goals. The text is rigorous enough to be used in a general-college class, yet accessible to any interested person looking for a nifty science project (or a handbook for surviving the collapse of civilization!)...and as a bonus, it's a great read. In addition he maintains an extremely helpful website for the book; I have learned almost as much about the projects from reading the comments of his students as from reading the book, and having a central place for errata to be posted online is very convenient for my students. I'd love to see a character in the next Mad-Max-style post-apocalypse movie pull out a copy of Caveman Chemistry and start a fire with two sticks, or make soap starting with ashes. But even if civilization survives, I will take consolation in this: with the projects in this book, we can participate in a tradition of human technology going back 500,000 years.

This book is a very different approach to learning something about chemistry. It certainly takes the topic from a quirky aspect, mixing history with modern chemical concepts, teaching a bit about historical skills while working in modern chemical principles. I am enjoying reading it. I was pleased to find a bit of emphasis placed on soap making toward the end, which is something I was planning to look up anyway. I doubt it will replace my formal 2.5 inch thick university general chemistry textbooks and laboratory guides, but it was never intended to do so. I already have those, because I am a retired electrical engineer back in school part time working toward a chemistry degree. This book is an unorthodox and thus enjoyable adjunct to the usual treatment of the subject. Definitely an enjoyable read once I got into the "groove" of the author's thought process. RECOMMENDED.

This is a junior college chemistry science text book. It is written in a conversational style that keeps your interest. He assigns the four eart signs to an imaginary friend that he has conversations with and the different sections of the book are 'narrated' by. Earth Fire Air Water. It is a fun concept until the four start to have pro and con discussions about certain subjects. :) But the important aspects of the subject are clearly explained along with the cautionary mentions about why a certain approach available was not followed. : if that was was denoted then people could be injured poisoned or disfigured. The books lists typical things that can be done at home using chemistry normally though of as confined to industry. Fermentation is clearly identified and explained. How to make a plastic out of automotive antifreeze. lots of cool projects that might become useful at some time or other. Lists the chemical name, the grocery store name and where you might find substitutes. In some instances they explain how to make the require item from other readily available things. Too many examples to list. But if this corn farmer can understand the instructions somebody else can also.

Nothing groundbreaking but I bought if for my bookshelf for that very reason, it can help explain some concepts to people in a way that let's them really understand the concepts and not be scared off by technical jargon.

Not as informative as I wanted. Written in a story layout.

As a current chemistry major with a long and sordid history of odd compounds, this book is a JOY to read even for me. It is this type of writing that truly brings "normal" non-scientific readers into the realm of the laboratory. It is fact and procedure written in a style that is instantly comfortable and reasonably non-technical. As one reviewer stated, THIS is what required reading should be. Everyone is worried about the "brain drain" in the US right now. If books like this were present in the arena of primary education for the last ten years, we wouldn't have anything to worry about. For people that can't immediately "dream this stuff in color" it is books like this that create a first breach in the dam that is our current bureaucratic education system.

With someone like this teaching you a failing grade is the likely outcome. Why Dunn feels it neccessary to quote from one of Shakespeare's most ridiculus plays and behave as if he is possessed is beyond me. It's not funny or necessary and the problem is that the book is full of it - literally. If you are looking to learn the solid fundementals of chemistry you should pass this one by and go with something like Wiley's, Chemistry - Concepts and Problems in which you begin learning immediately in a simple, straightforward manner. For anyone to suggest that a book like this should be part of any school's curriculum is just absurd.

There's so many "banned books" and "esoteric wisdom" sections in the stores these days, but do you know what's the actually dangerous, hidden knowledge that's not talked about in our society? It's chemistry. They made it super boring in school so you wouldn't realize how easy it is to get yourself drunk or blow your fingers off. Anyways, get this book and don't skip the safety pages.

A little more ‘story’ about the chemistry than just recipes, but this book is something I’ve been looking for for ages.

Très bonne initiation aux sciences, avec expériences à faire en famille (si les parents sont motivés et les enfants assez grands) qui donnent de bonnes bases pour démarrer en chimie et surtout donnent l'envie d'aller plus loin dans ce domaine. Idéal aussi pour un adulte qui veut se mettre ou se remettre à la chimie et qui n'y a pas touché depuis le collège ou le lycée...

This is ancient chemistry for artsy-fartsies. Easy to read and easy to understand. If I lived in Virginia I would have signed up for a course with Kevin Dunn before I finished the prologue.

I bought this book from a recommendation, and now having had a flick through, am glad to recommend it to you. I bought it as a gift, but will be digging through it myself when i can prize it from his grasp...

This isn't for kids. It's good for (supervised) teens and adults. It's much thicker than I thought it would be. Lots of great chemistry and experiments in here, explained in scientific detail.