White Light

“White Light tells the history of life through an element’s history. It is at once lyrical and exacting, clear-sighted and deeply informed—a beautiful book.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky

“An effervescent—or I should say phosphorescent—debut from a talented young science writer. Jack Lohmann travels across time and space, from eroding English seasides to lonely Pacific outposts, and from 50-million-year-old fossil beds to modern factory farms, to explore how the humble element phosphorus underpins our world. By the end of the journey, you too will see this often-ignored element in a new light—the white light that underlies life itself.” —Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh paleontologist and New York Times/Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

“Last week, I had no interest in phosphorus; now, thanks to Jack Lohmann’s ground-breaking book, I find life and death—the whole universe—within it. Every sentence in this deeply original work sparkles with astonishing facts, prodigious research, crystal clarity. White Light is a conscience-driven tour de force.” —Pico Iyer, author of The Half Known Life

“Lohmann’s beautiful book demonstrates that phosphate, a substance we do not think of in everyday life, tells us about our origin, the present and the future. This book reminds us of the meaning of life.” —Kohei Saito, author of Slow Down

“In this deft and radiant book, Jack Lohmann has achieved something quite rare: a work that is scientifically precise yet ethically expansive. Lohmann writes with assured wisdom, whether reflecting on Earth’s biogeochemical history or on environmental justice. Who knew that a book about phosphorus could generate such profound material and spiritual insights into life, death, human suffering, and planetary flourishing?” —Rob Nixon, author of Slow Violence

“A beautiful piece of genuinely literary science writing, very much in the spirit of John McPhee. You can feel the love of nature, and the wonder before nature, pouring out from nearly every page. With expert storytelling, [Lohmann conveys] just how different our natural world, and our modern history of science, would have been in the absence of the light-bearing element from Mendeleev’s table.” —Justin E. H. Smith, author of The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is

“An eerie exploration of a strange and surprising element, and a plangent warning of a looming environmental crisis that needs our attention. Science writing of the highest order.” —Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment

“The phosphorus cycle, in Lohmann’s treatment, emerges as a hyperobject: an entity that sprawls across space and time, operating on every scale from the microscopic to the planetary, and whose potency brings life but also destruction.” —James Vincent, London Review of Books

“A surprisingly riveting look at the role of death, in life, as illustrated via a single element.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A stimulating study.” —Publishers Weekly

“Via lyric, literary prose and journalistic storytelling, Lohmann lays bare a hidden ecological tragedy for scientifically curious readers.” —Wade Lee-Smith, Library Journal

“Phosphorus is a chemical Swiss Army knife. It is essential for life, a component of cells and bones, the prime part of a matchstick, an agricultural fertilizer, an ingredient in some insecticides, and emanates an eerie glow (phosphorescence) . . . Lohmann’s profile of phosphorus, a chemical necessary for life with many different uses, highlights how nature masterfully recycles an indispensable element.” —Booklist

“White Light mixes individual stories with global statistics and sweeping history to tell the story of phosphorus, from pollution in Florida to agricultural collapse on the island of Nauru. Jack Lohmann also looks to the future, exploring potential improvements in land output that would support the billions of humans living today, and the billions more to come.” —Kathryn Harkup, Times Literary Supplement

“From mining to mummies, White Light details the human relationship with phosphorus and what that might mean for a sustainable farming future.” —Food Tank