A World on Fire tells the parallel stories of Antoine Lavoisier and Joseph Priestly as they investigate the nature of air in the late 1700’s when chemistry was on the cusp of becoming a true science and breaking away from alchemy. The fact that air is not a pure, inert substance, and the secrets of burning and respiration all wait to be found. The books strength is Jackson’s skillful contrast of Lavoisier and Priestly, whose opposed natures and competition make the quest for discovery come alive. Priestly is from a modest background, struggles to break away from his family’s Calvinist faith and writes extensively on religion and politics. Lavoisier is a privileged Frenchman, obsessed with both measurement and the fame that comes with discovery. Priestly sees a joy in experimentation that Lavoisier seems not to have known, but he has the ability to put Priestley’s discoveries in a larger context of scientific theory and make them valuable. Jackson is slightly biased toward Priestly.
The book also contains interesting tidbits about the history of chemistry, especially phlogiston theory and alchemy, and about the history of scientific discovery in general. Jackson composes some beautiful, witty, and exciting sentences that I think would make even readers not generally interested in chemistry fascinated. The last third of the book takes place after the actually discovery of oxygen, to explain the fates of Lavoisier during the French Terror and Priestly in England. It was a little like reaching the point in Titanic when the iceberg has been spotted and wanting to turn off the movie, but it’s worth the read. All in all great book. ( )

This dual biography of Joseph Priestly and Antoine Lavoisier, who both independently discovered oxygen nearly simultaneously but interpreted their findings very differently, gets off to a strong start with its description of the chemists' scientific work. The last third or so of the book, focusing on the political turmoils of the time (the insistence on a parallel structure, juxtaposing riots in Birmingham with the French Revolution, perhaps overemphasizes the former), was nearly unreadably dull, however, and filled with overly-"clever" references to the incendiary nature of oxygen; any time flames are mentioned, Jackson insists on pointing out the supposed irony of a discoverer of oxygen being affected by fire. ( )

The history in A World on Fire centers on two men whose scientific curiousity led them to discover vital new clues about the air we breath and eventually, oxygen. Joseph Priestley, a British minister, and Antoine Lavoisier, a French aristocrat, worked independent of each other, and often fed off (or directly challenged) each other's work to drive forward in the search for the components of breathable and combustable air. Lavoisier's work sparked the Chemical Revolution even as Priestley fought stidently for a theory ('phlogiston') that quickly began to lose favor with chemists.

This book is not deep with science, though there are a few very basic formulas and descriptions of methodology. The narrative instead focuses largely on the setting and context of the discoveries made by the two men. Revolution in France and America, as well as the madness of King George in Britain and the fall of the monarchy in France led to a unique atmosphere in which this scientific story progressed.

As a history of scientists, this book is an easy read and one that is both enlightening and enjoyable. My primary complaint, and the reason for a 3/5 star review, is the author's insistence in placing his own speculation into the story. Many instances of 'One might imagine...' or 'It isn't hard to believe...' or 'Perhaps he saw...'. This is a major turn off for me in book on history. This doesn't greatly detract from the value of the book and its story, but it does make the reader wonder which facts are documented and which the author has chosen to include despite flimsy or non-existent evidence. ( )

A fascinating book about the quest to discover - consciously discover - oxygen. Taking place in the late 1700s, this is the story of Joseph Priestly, an English Dissenter, and Antoine Lavoisier, a French aristocrat, who both discovered the element. But, since Priestly saw his discovery through the prism of an outdated principle, and since Lavoisier named it, I suppose Lavoisier "won". Except that he lost his head in the Terror, so if he won anything, it was a Pyhrric victory. Well worth reading, because this was a fascinating time of discovery, full of larger-than-life personalities. ( )

Great book. Captures the excitement of scientific discovery. Maybe could have been a little shorter, but definitely worth the time an trouble. ( )