The Shocking History of Phosphorus - John Emsley

More than any other (with the possible exception of plutonium), phosphorus deserves the description 'The Devil's Element'. Discovered three hundred years ago, it has been utilised by poisoners to practice their murderous 'art', in incendiary devices that laid waste to entire cities, in nerve gases that deliver an agonising death, and is the cause of terrible industrial diseases such as 'phossy jaw'. Despite, or perhaps because of these uses, phosphorus has been intimately involved in the history of human development since its discovery by the alchemists of the 17th Century. Perhaps, to readers of this review, 'The Shocking History of Phosphorus' ...  Read the complete review