“Fresh . . . solid . . . full of suspense and intrigue.”—Publishers WeeklyAntoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry,  overthrowing the long-established principles of  alchemy and inventing an entirely new  terminology, one still in use by chemists.  Madison Smartt Bell’s enthralling narrative  reads like a race to the finish line, as the  very circumstances that enabled Lavoisier to  secure his reputation as the father of modern  chemistry—a considerable fortune and social  connections with the likes of Benjamin  Franklin—also caused his glory to be cut short  by the French Revolution.