★English rights (ww) sold.

Chemistry is important, useful and beautiful; it is the protagonist in the wonderful world of atoms and molecules and in the equally wonderful world of scientific research. Chemistry is our daily life: everywhere around us chemistry is the protagonist, in the natural phenomena which are essential for life, as photosynthesis, and artificial products of primary importance for the civilization, such as medicines, plastics, detergents. From this, emerges the double role the chemist: the one of an explorer and the one of an inventor, who is able not only to read the pages already written in the book of nature, but also to write new and important pages

Vincenzo Balzani, Professor of chemistry at the University of Bologna since 1972, is one of the 100 most cited chemists in the world. In addition to his commitment in the scientific field, he carries out intensive outreach on issues of science and peace, being convinced that a correct knowledge of these issues is necessary for the development of democracy. His book Energy for the Spaceship Earth, written with Nicholas Armaroli and published by Zanichelli, has received the 2009 Galileo Prize.

Margherita Venturi has been Professor of chemistry at the University of Bologna since 2005. She is a Scientific researcher in the field of nanotechnologies, with considerable activity in the context of teaching and popularization of chemistry.