Does anyone have a book recommendation on the topic of a history of chemistry in everyday life? I want to learn about basic chemistry but more from a practical point of view rather than an academic one. I was recently reading about how lye can be obtained from leaching ash, something along those lines. Basically what are some of the most important and practical chemical compounds we'll need post collapse and how to produce them from basic components.Thanks!
http://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-Complete-Traditional-Edition/dp/1602392331
Back to Basics is an awesome start that includes a ton of stuff, no matter which edition you get (I have several editions).
I can't remember if it includes how to make pectin (I'd look, but the Lab puppy just went to sleep after a largely sleepless day of stupidity, and there is a can (caT) and a hound snoozing on my lap, they will wake the Lab, and then I will have to pull my hair out).
Country Wisdom and Know-How is another decent one with some "chemistry" basics and all-around stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1579123686/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
The Foxfire series has some mix-your-own old-school stuff in there with the regular stuff. You can find some of them online as pdfs still.
Frontier Freedom and Mother Earth News have huge sections of how to make all kinds of things from wild, grown or scavenged components, and both usually have buttons up for easy printing and assembling your own binder of exactly what you want.
Cheers
-P
Thanks MrsP! Sounds like great info. Looking forward to checking them out.