[specialkender]

Hello everyone,

I'm a fellow theoretical chemist and I've been looking for a while for books, may be novels or may be straight up specific books, about basic chemistry of nature. What I mean is probably easily explained by examples than by trying to define precisely what I am looking for.

What I am NOT looking for is books that explain 200 reactions about aldehydes, nor about the multiple properties of CaCl2, nor about any other compounds. I don't want a book that will make me an expert in any specific little thing.

I am looking for example for a book that can explain me where could I find Iron ore, what should I look for in the surrounding valley to know where the Iron would accumulate, then how to smelt it maybe. Then what other elements might be found in the bed of the river that flows in the valley. Maybe in the same book it is explained how to extract pot ash or maybe what how to produce NaOH  from scratch.

Another book might talk about toxic compounds, how to isolate them from plants/animals etc

Another book maybe would talk about different fossil fuels, how to make fire burn intensly, so how should the oven be constructed to make it optimal. How to regulate the heat and so on.

Ideally these book would be written in an approachable way, but academics books are also welcome. Ofc these are only examples, If anyone has a book that really feels like recomending go on!

[Borek]

It is not like I recommend the book (I don't like the style, but that's a personal thing, can be OK with you) but Caveman chemistry comes to mind.