It is the insignificant chemical molecules that historians do not even look at that have changed history.
As you read this book, which covers the activities of these chemical molecules on the world stage, the claim that chemical molecules changed history will not sound so absurd.

Humans have been cultivating cacao beans for 5,500 years.
However, it was not until Cortés' conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1528 that the alkaloid molecules such as caffeine, theobromine, and anandamide, which create the unique bitter taste of the cacao bean, became known to Europeans.
Afterwards, numerous chemical molecules from the New World, such as nicotine, caffeine, and morphine, which had never been seen in the Old World, arrived in the form of tobacco, peppers, and cocoa, completely changing the daily lives of Europeans.
And these changes in daily life brought about political, economic, and social revolutions.
In other words, invisible chemical molecules changed history.


Kang Mo-rim's witty illustrations, created especially for the Korean edition, help lower the barrier to chemistry that people have built up due to their preconceptions.