Dag O. Hessen

C
An Unauthorized Biography

There are good reasons for writing this book with the simple title of C, which is the first and unauthorised biography of carbon, life's central element.
Most of the life processes within and around us involve carbon in one form or another. Carbon in pure form can be both graphite in a pencil, and diamond. It is also the starting point for most of the synthetic materials which pervade modern life. However, the essence of Dag O. Hessen's story is the lifecycle of carbon, the important balance between photosynthesis and cellular respiration, between building and burning.

This book gives us the basis we need for that understanding. It is an informal, well-informed book written with strong personal commitment by one of Norway's best presenters of research and science.