Chemistry is when it bangs and stinks. For those who have always found the subject fascinating but never really understood it, Peter Atkins is the go-to expert. The emeritus chemistry professor from Oxford distills the essentials: What exactly does a chemist do? What methods does he apply, and what does he research? He also does not shy away from the darker sides of the chemical industry: its contributions to weapon technology, for instance, or the waste and environmental toxins it produces. Nevertheless, one realization should not fade away in the end: Chemistry forms the basis of our lives: textiles and semiconductors, fuels and colors, fertilizers and medicines - without chemistry, we would be thrown back into the Stone Age.