Banned: The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments
Back in the late 60's this book, written for Children, was pulled from all public libraries and store shelves by the government. It was said that the experiments and information contained herein were too dangerous for the general public. A big fuss was made of a 1995 incident near Detroit in which child chemist, David Hahn, attempted to build a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard shed. A book by Ken Silverstein called 'The Radioactive Boyscout' tells the whole story, but you can get a summary on Wikipedia. This book is thoroughly interesting and is full of ideas and inspiration, it is the bible for any young chemist-in-training. Used copies on Amazon are rare and are currently priced between $237 and $690 for very used copies. However, because it was published in 1960, before the US copyright laws were rewritten, and because its original copyright was never renewed (yes, I checked myself), it's legal for me to share with you online.
Click here or here to download your FREE copy!
If you liked this article, please consider grabbing a shell from silenceisdefeat.com
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 9:58 am
hey
I tink tis book is exiting.
I’m a chemist by training and its verry interesting.
They have to juus it in school for pupels to get there atention
thanx for sharing
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 1:31 pm
totally kickass! I wanted this book for a while.
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 1:39 pm
[…] The 1960s children’s book of exciting and dangerous chemistry they don’t want you to read! (free!) […]
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 2:01 pm
Copyright laws were written 20 years after the constitution.
Now, the holder of the copyrighted material may not have renewed their copyright, but that doesn’t mean it’s leagal.
Not to mention this is a rapidshare link…
check out freecluture.org for more information
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 2:29 pm
What a gem! Will give copy to my 6th grade daughter today. I know she will love reading this. I totally enjoyed browsing through it today.
Thanks!
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 4:04 pm
I could like of a lot of worse things kids could be reading in school…like books with pictures of naked girls. Filthy smut. (For those of you who didn’t notice, that was sarcasm.)
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 4:15 pm
Gawd, anke. You actually teach? “I tink tis book is exiting.” “pupels”?
I have to admit I actually HAD one of these books back in the 60’s! Geez, it’s long decomposed in some landfill now.
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 5:29 pm
So when was it a crime to read a book and learn somthing new? I njoy books like this and glad to see it return to life.
Thanks
Thursday, September 21st 2006 at 9:03 pm
Is there a problem with the download? I can’t download it when I try.
Friday, September 22nd 2006 at 1:59 am
[…] Download the banned book now! [Not endorsed] […]
Friday, September 22nd 2006 at 3:02 am
I’m 52 and still have my copy of this book. A gift from my parents when I was 10.
Wow.
Friday, September 22nd 2006 at 3:51 am
[…] Banned: The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments via Digg […]
Friday, September 22nd 2006 at 5:58 am
Error:
Critical: Aborting the torrent as it was rejected by the tracker while not connected to any peers. Message from the tracker: Torrent deleted or not in pool yet. Go to Demonoid.com and read the FAQ for more info
Friday, September 22nd 2006 at 5:21 pm
Better Living
Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments Scan: this book has been banned, like so many useful chemistry sets, because kids can learn things from it. The torrent link in that entry appears to be wonky so here’s a non-Torrent local mirror.
…
Saturday, September 23rd 2006 at 5:00 am
[…] Back in the late 60’s this book was pulled from all public libraries and store shelves by the government. It was said that the experiments and information contained herein were too dangerous for the general public…read more | digg story Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
Saturday, September 23rd 2006 at 6:56 am
[…] Back in the late 60’s, a book written for children was pulled by the government. The experiments contained in it were deemed too dangerous for the general public. The book was published in 1960 and the original copyright was never renewed. A more detailed explanation of what is going on is available at chrisbrunner.com, and a download of the book is available there. […]
Saturday, September 23rd 2006 at 7:05 am
Very interesting article. It reminded me of a story when an old chemistry book was pulled because it contained how to make LSD. This book was probably printed in the late 30’s.
Saturday, September 23rd 2006 at 2:05 pm
Really Cool Book now i need to find the LSB book, reckon thiers one about how to run a meth lab:D thanks for this is interesting for a chem student thans
P.S what was the LSD book
Saturday, September 23rd 2006 at 11:16 pm
The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments: Curiosity First!
The rare (and banned) Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments apparently costs a bit to buy in hard copy. But forget hard copy, Chris Brunner wants to give you a PDF for no charge. Now you can blow yourself up in the privacy of your own home. And ha…
Sunday, September 24th 2006 at 11:11 pm
It was nice to StumbleUpon.com your site. I spent hours reading this book as a child. It was amazing to see it again. Definitely a Thumbs Up. Thanks!
Monday, September 25th 2006 at 1:05 am
Oh joy! Thank you so much for this. I’ll have to share it with my 12yo immediately!
Wednesday, September 27th 2006 at 7:15 am
[…] ChrisBrunner.com Download a free copy of the banned book The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments. Back in the late 60’s this book, written for Children, was pulled from all public libraries and store shelves by the government. It was said that the experiments and information contained herein were too dangerous for the general public. […]
Saturday, September 30th 2006 at 2:45 pm
This is a fun book but it was never banned or seized from bookshelves by the government. The content is not more dangerous than other books of its era intended for science hobbyists. I’m not sure how this urban legend-ish story took root, but I challenge anyone to find historical record of it.
On the other hand, if anyone is really interested in paying ~$500 for an original paper edition, I’d be happy to part with mine. Try gfxlist at yahoo dot com.
Saturday, December 23rd 2006 at 9:51 am
[…] In the 60s they even banned the Bible of home chemistry experiments - “The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments”. Thanks to Chris Brunner, you can now get your very own copy for free (PDF format). So go grab it now, and head over to your local pharmacy and start shopping! […]
Thursday, February 22nd 2007 at 9:58 pm
My father gave me a copy of this book back in the mid to late 60’s. I think I did about 30% of the experiments. Sadly, I lost my copy.
Wednesday, March 21st 2007 at 12:20 pm
Wow! This is truly a revelation and a shock to me. I received this book for Christmas in the early 60s. I really loved this book and tried many of the experiments in my makeshift kitchen table “lab”. I made quite a bit of progress until, one day, the book just disappeared. I searched the house high and low. No more Golden Book. You can imagine how bummed I was. I then tried to find a copy at the local library. No luck. In those days a kid wouldn’t even think of buying a book. You either went to the library or your parents bought them for you. Mostly just school books. So I just accepted the loss and moved on. From time to time I looked anew for the book in vain.
So that’s it. My parents probably heard about this and disappeared the book without saying a word to me about it. They would have done something like that without batting an eyelash. This was the 60s after all. Parents didn’t communicate with their children. They manipulated them. ‘Child psychology’ it was euphemistically called. Wow! I can’t believe my eyes. Yet another way they lied to me.
It is quite a thrill to read this for the first time in over 45 years. Thanks so much for making it available and for uncovering the mystery of its disappearance.
Tuesday, April 3rd 2007 at 12:37 pm
Im wondering if there is a copy available with the recipies for gunpowder and dynamite in aswell. Are you saying that the original had these recipies included ?
I have not been able to find an electronic copy of the book containing these recipies and i have downloaded a few copies from different sources..
Great book though…
Thanks..
Monday, April 9th 2007 at 12:34 pm
Anyone know of any other important engineering/science books that have been taken off the shelf in this manner? It’s sad really. No wonder our public schools continue to produce mediocre students. Censorship and education cannot co-exist.
Tuesday, May 1st 2007 at 3:23 am
There is a set of ‘Understanding Science’ periodicals that was printed during the 1960’s and were full of illustrations like this. Thanks for the pdf, it makes great reading. If only schools were teaching this stuff. It would catch the pupil’s attention and enthusiam more, and probably encourage more young people to invest in knowing about science and become a new generation of scientist.
Thursday, May 3rd 2007 at 3:00 am
I doubt the book that told you how to make acid (mentioned above) was printed in the late 30’s. Acid (LSD-25) was discovered in 1938, and then forgotten about shortly after. Albert Hoffman, the man who discovered the substance, didn’t revisit the substance until 1947, when some of it was absorbed through his skin by accident. So the substance wasn’t really well enough known until the late 40’s, and even then it wasn’t popular until the 50’s-60’s. Perhaps the book the poster above mentioned was “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”, by Tom Wolfe, or “LSD - My Problem Child”, by Albert Hoffman himself. Since I’ve never read these books myself, I couldn’t tell you whether there’s a recipe for LSD in them or not, but I’m sure they’re worth picking up. Remember, The More You Know…..
Saturday, May 5th 2007 at 10:21 pm
Incredible link, been looking for this book for a while…will link here soon
Friday, May 18th 2007 at 7:24 am
That’s a great book!!!!!!!!!! I have a lab at home too and I enjoy doing chemistry experiments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, June 22nd 2007 at 12:35 pm
Wow. I’m a homeschooling mom and I’m always on the prowl at used book sales for resources. I got this book for a quarter at a sale somewhere. My dtr loves it, especially the part about how to make your own lab equipment. I about fainted when I saw what it’s going for on Amazon!
Tuesday, July 10th 2007 at 12:09 pm
This book is awesome!! It has all kinds of cool experiments, and the illustrations make it really easy to understand. Textbooks should be written this way
You can download a copy here too:
http://homebrewscience.com
Thursday, July 12th 2007 at 8:52 pm
The LSD recipe may have been in the Anarchists Cookbook
Sunday, September 16th 2007 at 4:01 pm
[…] In the 60s they even banned the Bible of home chemistry experiments - “The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments”. Thanks to Chris Brunner, you can now get your very own copy for free (PDF format). So go grab it now, and head over to your local pharmacy and start shopping! books, chemistry, danger, ebooks, science […]
Tuesday, December 11th 2007 at 10:49 pm
What happened to the download link? I can’t find it anywhere….bummer…
Monday, December 24th 2007 at 3:31 am
Here is a fresh link for the book:
http://rapidshare.com/files/9353572/tgb_ce.pdf
(Just wait for the countdown and enter the code and you can download the PDF version)
Monday, December 24th 2007 at 3:38 am
Actually, here is a better link for the book. Enjoy! (use the same directions as above)
http://rapidshare.com/files/78710853/The_Golden_Book_of_Chemistry_Experiments.pdf
Monday, December 24th 2007 at 10:23 am
TRY mixing ammonia and bleach. See if anything happens (It won’t.) This is an old wive’s tale my Mother subscribed to.
NOW–try Vinegar, or, any acid, with bleach. Holy WWI! Chlorine Gas!
Friday, January 11th 2008 at 8:54 pm
This was the TURNING POINT book in my life! My parents saw my interest in chemistry as a young kid and bought me a Porter Chemistry set. I loved it, having fun and even learned a little bit about chemistry. At this time, they also bought the book The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments for me to aid in my understanding of chemistry. Needless to say, I fell in love with the book and did many experiments contained therein. Now that I am older, I still find a certain nostalgia when thinking of those times, my excitment of learning chemistry (has never left me). and this wonderful book with great illustrations and explanations to thrill the young (and old) chemist alike. If you like (love) chemistry as I do, or think you might, then by all means get this book or download a copy. It has inspired generations in the pursuit of this wonderful science!
Wednesday, April 2nd 2008 at 9:41 am
The link to the downloadable book does not work
Sunday, April 6th 2008 at 9:11 am
[…] The book was pulled in the late 60s, and would never see print again. Copies of the book have been selling on Amazon and eBay for between $200 and $700, for outrageously threadbare copies. But there’s a loophole; the original copyright was not renewed, and the book was published prior to the rewriting of the copyright laws, so it’s now possible to get a copy online. You can download a copy from Chris Brunner’s blog, and we are also mirroring it here. Enjoy, and for goodness’ sake, be careful. Gadgets and Toys […]
Sunday, August 3rd 2008 at 10:15 am
[…] Did you have a chemistry set when you were a kid? I did, and it really taught me a lot (and was great fun to boot). These days you’d be hard pressed to find one with anything more exciting than baking soda in it of course - and we have mostly overprotective Americans to blame for that.In the 60s they even banned the Bible of home chemistry experiments - “The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments”. Thanks to Chris Brunner, you can now get your very own copy for free (PDF format). So go grab it now, and head over to your local pharmacy and start shopping! Tagged: books, chemistry, danger, ebooks and Science Feed for this Entry […]
Monday, November 24th 2008 at 3:04 pm
I recently bought this book in pristine condition on ebay for $105, including shipping. I guess I got lucky. The one I have has a red cloth type covering and says 1960 edition. I am also putting together a chemistry set for my 13 year old son and hope to go through all of the experiments in this book with him. I say “putting together” because I was unable to find anthing on the market that was complete with an alcohol burner, chemicals and assorted glassware. So I have found a set of borsilicate lab glassware and an alcohol burner. I have also found a company http://www.hometrainingtools.com that will sell the necessary chemicals(between 30 and 100 grams in individual containers). Given all the money spent on XBOX360 and the other stuff/garbage kids get, I consider this money well spent on my son. Lastly, I have printed out the pdf version of the book and put it in a binder as a working copy to use for the experiments, rather than risk ruining the truly amazing quality book I was able to get.
Monday, November 24th 2008 at 5:41 pm
Seems the link for the file is currently unavailable. I guess I came to the party too late? If anyone can share a copy would be appreciated
Thanks
standauffish@earthlink.net
Tuesday, April 28th 2009 at 12:15 am
This book DOES contain dangerous experiments. You all may want to ignore it but it is a fact. By dangerous, I mean ‘may expose your child to compounds which are immediately toxic (eg chlorine and hydrogen sulfide), or may have various long term effects such as chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, iodoform, acrolein etc etc. It is really funny that the book considers sulfuric and nitric acid to be so dangerous, and yet it considers sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to be ’safe’. I will bet anyone over the age of 18 that they would never consider putting either of the latter in their eyes! And yet both are used like ‘water’ in he various experiments. DO NOT ALLOW ANYBODY who does not understand the hazards of chemicals to use this book unsupervised.