The big bang

"This entertaining and informative book tells the dramatic tale of explosives, which have provided the world's most powerful source of portable energy for over a thousand years. Laying the emphasis on the lives of the people involved, on the diverse uses of explosives and on their social and historical impact, the author relates a story of remarkable international human endeavour." "Many of those involved - Roger Bacon, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, Robert Oppenheimer - are famed worldwide; others, such as C.F. Schonbein, William Bickford, Sir Frederick Abel and Charles E. Munroe, though less well known, also played crucial roles. Alongside their achievements, this book highlights the uses and impact of explosives in both war and terrorism, and in civil engineering, quarrying, mining, demolition, fireworks manufacture and shooting for sport. This book will be of interest to social, military and industrial historians, and will also appeal to general readers drawn by the fascinating story of one of the fundamental inventions in science history."--BOOK JACKET.