Napoleon’s Buttons Book Summary - Napoleon’s Buttons Book explained in key points

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Napoleon’s Buttons summary

Name: Napoleon’s Buttons
Rating: 4.5 (60 reviews)
Author: Penny LeCouter & Jay Burreson

Penny LeCouter & Jay Burreson

How 17 Molecules Changed History

4.5 (60 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

In "Napoleon's Buttons" by Penny LeCouteur and Jay Burreson, we learn about the giant impact small molecules have on history. The book explores how molecules, such as caffeine and nicotine, transformed the world.

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Medicine & Natural Remedies Alternative Perspectives Women's Health & Maternity Natural Sciences

Table of Contents

Napoleon’s Buttons
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Discover the massive impact of the tiniest things.

At some point, you’ve probably heard the theory of how a butterfly flapping its wings in one location can create a tsunami on the other side of the planet. But what if this notion were applied to our history? What if the tiniest change in a molecule’s structure could alter the outcome of historical events – and human history as a whole?

It might sound like a radical idea, but as we’ll see, even minute factors like how the molecules bond together in cotton, a nut or the resin from a tree have had a massive impact on our history. This hasn’t happened by itself, but has been pushed forward by inventions and modifications from a few people whose ideas came to revolutionize the way we interact with our world.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why citrus fruit was an essential tool for explorers;
why gin and tonic was once seen as a medication; and
how witchcraft can still cure your headache.

Chemistry has had a major impact on the course of history.

How much do you remember from high school chemistry class? Well, while your teacher probably went on at great length about electrons and the periodic table, it’s unlikely that you learned anything about the impact of molecules on the course of history – which has been significant, to say the least.

Just take the molecular composition of the buttons worn by the soldiers in Napoleon’s army; this little detail might well have lost them their catastrophic Russian campaign.

When Napoleon’s army marched on Russia in June of 1812, they were over half a million strong. By December of the same year the Grande Armée, as it was called, numbered less than 10,000, ravaged by battle, starvation and the cold.

One theory that explains the army’s rapid collapse blames the buttons that held together the soldiers’ cloaks, trousers and coats. The buttons were made of tin, a material that doesn’t hold up well when exposed to low temperatures; when it gets cold, this hard and shiny material crumbles into powder.

This shocking transformation was known as tin disease and could explain why, by the time they reached the city of Borisov, Napoleon’s soldiers were described by some as ghosts wrapped in hole-riddled carpets and cloaks.

And that’s not all chemistry can explain about history. The distinctive properties of molecules have been center stage for major events throughout the course of recorded human life. After all, material properties can be affected by even the most minute changes in molecular bonds, and such transformations can have dramatic consequences.

For instance, cotton, which is made of cellulose, is much more effectively produced in humid climates. The ambient moisture helps the fibers stick to one another, making them less likely to split during weaving.

As a result, rainy northern England became an ideal place for the expansion of the cotton industry, which transformed this part of the country from a simple agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse. With the rise of industry came abominable working conditions in factories, which in turn resulted in widely implemented legislation to improve working and living conditions.

New York would still be called New Amsterdam if it weren’t for a seventeenth-century battle over nutmeg.

There was a time in medieval Europe when pepper was so expensive that a mere pound of the stuff could buy the freedom of a serf from a nobleman’s estate. In fact, there were many spices so highly valued that they fuelled exploration and led to wars, but none was more sought after than nutmeg.

For instance, this simple spice brought about a conflict that resulted in the Dutch ceding their colony, New Amsterdam on Manhattan, to the English in exchange for the Spice Island of Run.

Sea exploration was fatal for many sailors until they learned that Vitamin C prevents scurvy.

Looking at an orange, you probably wouldn’t expect it to impact the way the earth’s exploration took place. But citrus did just that.

The invention of larger sailing vessels that could endure the open seas, meant that ships no longer needed to sail along the coast. In exchange for this greater freedom to roam, the ships’ crews would be forced to rely on preserved food. Within six weeks of leaving port, many of them would begin to suffer from scurvy - a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C.

Rubber as we know it today wouldn’t exist without human ingenuity.

Did you know that rubber was first extracted from plants in Latin America as early as 1600 BC? At the time, it was used to make balls for games, as well as other items like hats and boots.

Upon reaching the Americas, European explorers soon became enchanted with this material, using it to make golf balls. But rubber’s natural form wasn’t durable or flexible enough for mainstream applications, and to make it so would require human ingenuity.

The quest for colors gave birth to the chemicals industry.

Looking at an old painting, one thing becomes abundantly clear: people used to wear some seriously colorful clothes. In fact, dyes have been used to tint garments for thousands of years.

For instance, the Aztecs used to harvest carmine beetles to make crimson, while the Greeks produced indigo dye from huge shellfish harvests. However, there were problems with lots of these natural dyes.

Two women transformed society by pushing for the invention of the first effective oral contraceptive.

As antiseptics and antibiotics became more widely available in the twentieth century, a greater percentage of children survived childbirth. This positive change gradually led women to seek effective forms of birth control more urgently than ever.

After all, until “the pill” was developed, women had no effective means of birth control. Up until that point, oral contraceptives had been used by women throughout history, but most were highly suspect. Among the most shocking examples were snake and spider eggs, or a seventh-century Chinese remedy that involved frying mercury in oil.

Witches used plants to treat all manner of ailments, eventually leading to their persecution.

While witches have gotten a bad rap historically, in medieval times, they were often healers who provided herbal remedies and lucky charms. So why do we think of them so differently in the present?

Well, they had a reputation for other things too, like flying off to a demonic orgy known as sabbat.

Quinine was the first molecule used to combat malaria.

Did you know that the word “malaria” comes from the Italian for “bad air”? For centuries, people thought this blood-borne parasite carried by mosquitos was actually caused by noxious mists emanating from marshlands.

But while they may have been mistaken as to its origins, people knew that malaria was a serious killer, probably one of the biggest of all time. Even today, it affects 300 to 500 million people annually.

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What is Napoleon’s Buttons about?

Napoleon’s Buttons (2004) is all about the molecules that have guided the course of human history in the unlikeliest of ways. These blinks explore how major geopolitical and social changes can be traced back to the simple bonding of atoms in a molecule.

Best quote from Napoleon’s Buttons

While scurvy ravaged crews on European ships, Chinese sailboats had long since been leaving port with pots of Vitamin C-rich fresh ginger on board.

—Penny LeCouter & Jay Burreson

Who should read Napoleon’s Buttons?

People interested in the history of chemistry
Students of history who want a different perspective on world events
Anyone who’s intrigued by the ways everyday objects have changed world history

About the Author

Penny LeCouteur is an author and professor of chemistry based in Vancouver, Canada, and is the recipient of the Polysar Award for Outstanding Chemistry Teaching in Canadian Colleges.

Jay Burreson, PhD, is an industrial chemist and manager of a technology company.

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