Throughout history, blue is the rarest color in the natural world. People have searched for, fought for, and wasted fortunes on finding a true natural blue. The historical demand for blue has been so great that alchemists and scientists pursued artificial ways to create the color. Resulting patents abound. What is the allure of the color blue? Why is it so hard to find?
Journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has spent his life drawn to the color blue. Now he draws his readers into his world of meticulous of searching and researching the color and the role it has played in society. I have always be fascinated by colors and have read several books about pigments. Kupferschmidt has shown me that my prior knowledge was only scratching the surface of color. I highly recommend this for those that enthralled with pigments and their origins.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#Blue #NetGalley

Kai Kupferschmidt shares his travels around the globe in his newest book, Blue. From labs to underground caverns, Kupferschmidt searches for the elusive colour and explains some of the science about the colour blue in the world around us. The book does contain color photos, but if you are expecting beautiful colors full of blue such as the one on the book’s cover, you will be sorely disappointed. This is not a coffee table book to peruse for the gorgeous blue photographs. Instead, this is more part science and part travel blog.

My thanks to The Experiment for a temporary digital review copy via NetGalley of ‘Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color’ by Kai Kupferschmidt in exchange for an honest review. It was originally published in Germany and was translated from the German by Mike Mitchell.

Blue is my favourite colour and this vibrant celebration of the colour blue was a delight from start to finish. It has a beautiful cover and also contains a number of striking photographs throughout.

Kai Kupferschmidt is a science journalist who has been fascinated by the colour blue since childhood. This book is a record of his globe-trotting quest to find his favorite color in the natural world and to understand its place both in nature and world culture. He explores examples of blue including in minerals, plants, insects, reptiles, birds and other creatures. He also examines the linguistics of colour and practical applications such as pigments for use in art and dye in the creation of fabrics.

I found this an enriching experience. His account was very science-based though I felt that Kai Kupferschmidt explained the more technical aspects in an accessible fashion. His style was colloquial and anecdotal. (The image of scientists applying make-up to the feet of male blue-footed booby birds to ascertain if this made them more or less desirable as mates amused me greatly.)

He completed the book with ‘Here Was Blue’, a personal and powerful account of his encounter with ‘Blue’, the 1993 film art installation by Derek Jarman at the Tate Modern. I was very moved by it. Following the main text he provides suggestions for further reading and his sources.

I find that the colour blue is very calming and so just reading this book and looking at its photographs and even the solid blue pages that mark its chapter divisions was almost like a colour meditation.

Overall, I felt that reading ‘Blue’ increased my knowledge not only about blue but about colours in general.

I enjoyed this very much and wanted to add it to my library, so bought its hardback edition. It is beautifully presented with dark blue-sprayed edges.

I was intrigued by Blue from the gorgeous cover and the concept of a book about a specific color was fascinating.The author brings the color alive in the world and the air around us.A book perfect for discussion a color with so many levels .#netgalley #theexperiment

This is one that must be read either in hard copy or on a device that is color enabled. Kupferschmidt has written an interesting popular science book about a single color that has fascinated us from the beginning of time. How many people say blue is their favorite color? Why is there no blue food? His tour around the world dips into flora, fauna, minerals and so on. It's not particularly in depth but that doesn't mean it isn't educational. There are photos and drawings best experienced in color (that's the point after all). Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A quick enjoyable read.

Blue is rare. A look at the sky contradicts this, but if you take a closer look around, we quickly see that we rarely come across blue in the animal and plant world. Since time immemorial, people have been looking for unique blue stones and dyes that transform textiles, porcelain or paintings. Because blue has always had a magical fascination for us. Be it the romantics' search for the blue flower or the wondrous blue colouring of bird feathers. Kai Kupferschmidt succumbed to this fascination as a child and it has been with him all his life.

To find out the secret of this colour, he embarked on a journey from Japan to a volcanic lake in Oregon and the last specimens of the Spix's Macaw in Brandenburg. Stones, plants, animals or the remote view from space on our blue planet are evidence of immeasurable beauty, which is then reflected in our speaking and writing. But everything begins with light and our vision. A fascinating, vivid and interesting romp through the history of the colour blue and its scarcity throughout the natural world. Highly recommended.

Kai Kupferschmidt's book, Blue, talks about the rarity of this color and why it stands out when we see it in nature. This book truly will help you appreciate the details in life and the world around you, and I found it to be quite impactful because I now see the world a bit differently. Learning about the function of color in society was interesting, too, because rarely is blue used in marketing or advertising, yet it's a color that many people say is their favorite. This is a quick read and true gem of nonfiction writing!

The color blue, so fascinating and beautiful to most of us and yet, how much thought do we give to the scientific, historical, and cultural significance of blue? This book really surprised me! It's not the type of genre I normally read but I found myself thoroughly engaged in learning about the history, cultural significance, and scientific facts surrounding the color blue. A delightful read with stunning photos and examples throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kai Kupferschmidt, and The Experiment Publishing for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my! A stunning tribute to the color blue. I did not realize how rare the color blue really is. I love the science and history behind the author’s motivation. I particularly enjoyed the explanations in the rocks and animals section, but my favorite was the plants section. This book is written as an easy to follow and enjoyable textbook and guide. A great resource for all lovers of science.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Blue is filled with beautiful visuals and intriguing anecdotes. Kupferschmidt is adept at moving among the levels of the physical world's hierarchy--atoms, molecules, cels, etc.--and into levels of culture and society. An impressive achievement.

Blue is my favorite color so I was pretty excited about this book! It was an interesting experience as I have not read books in this genre before. A lot of informative things about the chemistry and biology of the color and where it is found. Very pretty pictures too!

The pictures were very pretty, but the book failed to hold my interest much. Part of that was the netGalley shelf app reading experience, which I don't enjoy, but this was also a bit more arcane than I think my readers will care for.

Scattered through this book are images of the examples of blue described, which makes it one of the most beautiful books I have read for a long time.

Because we see vast expanses of blue in the sky and sea we may take it for granted, but as the author explains, ″Blue occurs less frequently in nature than other colours do.″ There are examples of blue in nature amongst flowers, birds and minerals, but compared to colours such as red, yellow and the ubiquitous green, they are comparatively rare. And when we turn from nature to human ingenuity it has been difficult to produce a colour blue artificially.

The book looks at blue from many angles: science, history and art, and looks at how these interconnect. The science is explained in a way which I think is accessible to the average reader, and anecdotes are interpolated throughout the technical descriptions to make them more manageable. And it ends on a personal anecdote which emphasises what a gift blue is within the everyday world.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

The stunning peacock picture on the front cover of this book drew me in to find out more about the mysteries of the colour blue. The reader is taken on a factual and scientific tour of blue things found in nature. The author explains the rarity of blue amongst other more predominant colours. The illustrations are stunning and the information fascinating. I enjoyed reading this in small bites rather than in one go. Thank you to Kai Kupferschmidt, Net Galley and The Experiment for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blue is such an exquisite colour, relaxing and cool yet arresting. As a young child my parents taught me it is rare in nature so have always mindful of it to this day when at the sea or anywhere in nature. As the author points out, blue is chemistry, biology and physics and all are detailed in this book with many examples. The helpful information about pigments, electrical signals, light and molecular vibrations which contribute to the colour is interesting. You will find excellent explanations of cones in our eyes (as humans we have three types).

The stunning shades of blue depicted in this book's photographs are breathtaking. When contemplating natural blue I think of flowers (including my blue gardens), birds and the clear Adriatic Sea. But this author takes it well beyond that into the hows of blue. We learn about the blues "produced" by the Egyptians, those in the Middle Ages (indigo), Renaissance artists (in particular Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel) and German Meissen as well as recent discoveries. Also included is a table of blues and where they occur in animal, vegetable and mineral. One of my favourite new discoveries in the book is the gorgeous blue-ringed octopus!

You needn't be science inclined to enjoy this book (though it helps). All you need is an inquisitive mind and longing to learn.

My sincere thank you to The Experiment and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this lovely and informative ARC!

It wasn't what I expected. I was looking for more information about the different types of blue and where you can find them. This book told some of that, but it didn't have enough explanation of where and how blue is found. And I would have liked to have seen more pictures of different types of blue.

Outstanding science writing

Kai Kupferschmidt created a wonderful, well-written book. I loved it. I would not have thought that a book on a single color could be so interesting and fun to read. He puts his journey into the story, which I love. He explains science clearly and thoroughly, but the book contains so much more. There is a lot of history and some beautiful art. The book was originally published in German but the translation is outstanding. Indeed, I did not know it was a translation until I searched for some background on Kupferschmidt. This is the type of science writing that will have broad appeal and that there should be more of. Thank you to NetGalley and The Experiment for the advance reader copy.

This book is about how rare and precious that colour is. And since Kai Kupferschmidt is a correspondent for Science magazine, this book is more about the science of the colour. To be honest, I didn’t expect to read so much science, but it was fun. Yes, there were parts I didn’t fully understand; still, I managed to look at the colour differently. And I know a little about how our eyes work and how light works.

If you are interested in science and love to learn more about this rare colour and light, you’ll love this, a lot.

A cerulean dream

This book covers the history of the colour blue, its cultural and emotional significance, how we and other species perceive the colour, its occurrence in the world around us, the science of blue, and artificial pigments.

Told as a quest in pursuit of blue, Kupferschmidt’s globetrotting doesn’t add a huge deal to what is otherwise a thought-provoking and thorough examination of nature’s rarest colour. The writing style lacks warmth, mostly resembling academic texts.

The accompanying photography is stunning.

A beautiful book to look at, rather dry to read, but the raw facts are fascinating.

My thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for the ARC.

I found this book to be fascinating, enchanting and very informative. Can anyone recall all of the blue animal, plants, etc in nature? Are there some we do not know that exist and are unseen. Anything blue sticks right out. This book delves in to all these questions and more, and I was pleasantly surprised just how well it was written and organized. The did their homework and laid out all their findings and insights well and left the reader with a factual and insightful gem. A quick read.

I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the color blue as well as for people who enjoy nature or a good nonfiction book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kair Kuperferschmidt and The Experiment for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 6/8/21