Books by Kit Chapman
The Age of Alchemy: The Secret History of Chemistry from Ancient Magic to Modern Science
by Kit Chapman
🏆 Winner of the 2026 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize
“There have been many histories of chemistry, with a focus either on the history itself or by explaining chemistry through the history of its development. But many of them start only 300 or 400 years ago, with the discovery of oxygen, or something like it. Kit Chapman starts long, long before, in the days of ancient Egypt and biblical times in the Middle East and in ancient China. So he’s delving deep. You go through half the book before you come across a modern European scientist. This point is a strong one – we felt he was doing the difficult stuff, going deeper into time, to where people were not documenting their work, not writing scientific papers.” Read more...
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize
Michael Benton, Scientist
Interviews where books by Kit Chapman were recommended
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1
The Age of Alchemy: The Secret History of Chemistry from Ancient Magic to Modern Science
by Kit Chapman -
2
Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health
by Deborah Cohen -
3
Despite It All: A Handbook for Climate Hopefuls
by Fred Pearce -
4
Every Last Fish: A Deep Dive into the World of Fishes and Fishing
by Rose George -
5
Hidden Guests: Migrating Cells and How the New Science of Microchimerism Is Redefining Human Identity
by Lise Barnéoud, translated by Bronwyn Haslam -
6
How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past
by Steve Ramirez
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Michael Benton
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Michael Benton
The Royal Society celebrates the best new popular science writing every year through the prestigious Trivedi Science Book Prize. We asked Professor Michael Benton, the eminent palaeontologist and chair of the 2026 judging panel, to talk us through their six-book shortlist: from a globe-trotting history of alchemy to a fast-paced account of memory manipulation by optogenetics researchers at the cutting edge of science.
