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Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives. But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically. The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war–and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780307351791","publication_date":"20090818","publisher":"Crown","slug":"the-alchemy-of-air","subtitle":"A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World But Fueled the Rise of Hitler","title":"The Alchemy of Air"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chemical & Biological Warfare","score":0.7682,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II History","score":0.7489,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War I History","score":0.7404,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chemical & Biological Warfare","score":0.7682,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II History","score":0.7489,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War I History","score":0.7404,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chemical & Biological Warfare","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI013000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chemistry","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI034000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History of Science","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Chemical & Biological Warfare","score":0.7682,"slug":"chemical-biological-warfare"},{"label":"World War II History","score":0.7489,"slug":"world-war-ii-history"},{"label":"World War I History","score":0.7404,"slug":"world-war-i-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Chemical & Biological Warfare","Good for fans of History","Good for readers who enjoy Chemical & Biological Warfare and World War II History."],"related_lists":[{"intro":"","slug":"shelf-his027090-world-war-i","title":"World War I Books","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/lists/shelf-his027090-world-war-i"}],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Theo Emery"],"book_id":"9780316264105","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316264105.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":16.4876,"title":"Hellfire Boys","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316264105"},{"authors":["John Keegan"],"book_id":"9780143035732","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143035732.jpg?v=20260417T232332Z%3A2026-04-17T23%3A23%3A32Z","score":16.3499,"title":"The Second World War","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143035732"},{"authors":["James L. 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