The 13th element : the sordid tale of murder, fire and phosphorus

The incredible "glowing" history of the "Devil's element "phosphorus Discovered by alchemists, prescribed by apothecaries, exploited by ninth-century industrialists, and abused by twentieth-century combatants, the chemical element phosphorus has fascinated us for more than three centuries.

It may even be the cause of will-o'-the wisps and spontaneous human combustion!

Now John Emsley has written an enthralling account of this eerily luminescent element.

Shining with wonderful nuggets-from murders-by-phosphorus to a match factory strike; from the firebombing of Hamburg to the deadly compounds derived from phosphorus today-The 13th Element weaves together a rich tableau of brilliant and oddball characters, social upheavals, and bizarre events.