Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color
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- Create Date：2021-07-20 09:51:25
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kai Kupferschmidt
- ISBN：1615197524
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Summary
A globe-trotting quest to find blue in the natural world—and to understand our collective obsession with this bewitching color
Blue is a rare color—natural blue， that is。 From morpho butterflies in the rain forest to the blue jay flitting past your window， vanishingly few living things are blue—and most that appear so are doing sleight of hand with physics or complex chemistry。 Flowers modify the red pigment anthocyanin to achieve their blue hue。 Even the blue sky above us is a trick of the light。
Yet this hard-to-spot accent color in our surroundings looms large in our affections。 Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has been fascinated by blue since childhood。 His quest to find and understand his favorite color and its hallowed place in our culture takes him to a gene-splicing laboratory in Japan， a volcanic lake in Oregon， and to Brandenburg， Germany—home of the last Spix’s macaws。 From deep underground where blue minerals grow into crystals to miles away in space where satellites gaze down at our “blue marble” planet， wherever we do find blue， it always has a story to tell。
Blue is a rare color—natural blue， that is。 From morpho butterflies in the rain forest to the blue jay flitting past your window， vanishingly few living things are blue—and most that appear so are doing sleight of hand with physics or complex chemistry。 Flowers modify the red pigment anthocyanin to achieve their blue hue。 Even the blue sky above us is a trick of the light。
Yet this hard-to-spot accent color in our surroundings looms large in our affections。 Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has been fascinated by blue since childhood。 His quest to find and understand his favorite color and its hallowed place in our culture takes him to a gene-splicing laboratory in Japan， a volcanic lake in Oregon， and to Brandenburg， Germany—home of the last Spix’s macaws。 From deep underground where blue minerals grow into crystals to miles away in space where satellites gaze down at our “blue marble” planet， wherever we do find blue， it always has a story to tell。
Reviews
Kathleen Gray
，
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 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。 。。。more
Lou
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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 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。 。。。more
Tina
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Well now i know more about blue than i even thought necessary！
Kerri
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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 P 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。 。。。more
Julien
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Fascinating and wide-ranging。 This scientific investigation and micro-history traces the bizarre rarity that is the color blue in nature。 I found myself going "wow" at least once person listen and learned a ton about pigmentation in the animal， plant， and industrial realms。 It was fascinating to learn the how different the mechanisms of plant and animal colorization are， and how there's so little overlap in DNA and function。 It was also really interesting to learn the history of the quest for th Fascinating and wide-ranging。 This scientific investigation and micro-history traces the bizarre rarity that is the color blue in nature。 I found myself going "wow" at least once person listen and learned a ton about pigmentation in the animal， plant， and industrial realms。 It was fascinating to learn the how different the mechanisms of plant and animal colorization are， and how there's so little overlap in DNA and function。 It was also really interesting to learn the history of the quest for the perfect industrial blue to pigment our daily lives。 I had no idea it was so hard to produce until very recently。 In fact， a lot of them were discovered by accident。 It was also interesting to trace the discovered and lost and rediscovered pigments throughout history， especially Egyptian Blue。 The audiobook was fine。 The narrator kind of sounded like a somewhat gruff， but knowledgeable older gentleman， which is not a go-to type for me， but he started to grow on me by the end。 ***Thank you to Libro。fm and the publisher for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review*** 。。。more
Brandi
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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 ow 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。 。。。more
Chia-Chia
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Wow！
Lori L （She Treads Softly）
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Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color by Kai Kupferschmidt is a very highly recommended well-balanced historical， societal， and scientific examination of the color blue。The color blue is special。 It is the favorite color of many people。 We see it in the sky and the ocean。 Blue is unique in nature and causes pause and awe when we discovered it by happenstance in rocks， birds， and flowers。 It is captured in art and crafts but it is also a rare color in the natural world。 The color blue and how Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color by Kai Kupferschmidt is a very highly recommended well-balanced historical， societal， and scientific examination of the color blue。The color blue is special。 It is the favorite color of many people。 We see it in the sky and the ocean。 Blue is unique in nature and causes pause and awe when we discovered it by happenstance in rocks， birds， and flowers。 It is captured in art and crafts but it is also a rare color in the natural world。 The color blue and how we see it can be explained through physics， chemistry， and biology， but our reaction to it is personal。 Kupferschmidt sets out in Blue to explain the color through science， but also follow the historical and natural appearance of the color。 The art world has long searched for a blue pigment to use in painting。 True blue is rare。 Ancient Egyptians perfected the first blue ceramic glaze and it was revered。 Civilizations have continually looked for a source of the color blue。 Interestingly enough， Kupferschmidt first introduces us to chemist Mas Subramanian， a chemist who in 2009 created the first new blue pigment in 200 years。 The color was immediately lauded by industries and artists。 It is called "Yin Min" based on its components: yttrium oxide， indium oxide， and manganese oxide。 There have been other discoveries of blue， for example indigo from India and Prussian blue which is also a created pigment。Kupferschmidt covers the world in his quest to find blue， follow the various uses of blue in societies， and explain scientifically the how and why of the color。 The chemistry of blue and the various ways people have tried to create it is covered。 He also follows how humans versus other animals see blue biologically。 And then there is the long quest to develop a blue rose。If you enjoy excellent scientific writing， you will relish this book。 The photographs are gorgeous。 （My review edition didn't have color photos and I immediately went online to find photos to see everything blue mentioned。 The photos make an excellent case to buy a copy of the book。） There is a table of blues and where they occur in animal， vegetable and mineral。 What made my heart beat faster was the fact that: "While we’ve been up here on the planet’s surface， doing everything we can for thousands of years to produce new blue pigments from Earth’s minerals， there is - below our feet， unimaginable and inaccessible - a gigantic reservoir of blue stone。" What a wonderful， awe-inspiring fact。 Originally published in Germany as Blau， the English edition was translated by Mike Mitchell。Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of The Experiment in exchange for my honest opinion。http://www。shetreadssoftly。com/2021/0。。。 。。。more
Nicola Bennett
，
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 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 。。。more
Robert
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Blau als Eindruck und Chemie， als Pigment und Gestein， in der Sprache， im Tier- und Pflanzenreich。 Kupferschmidt nähert sich der Farbe wissenschaftlich， historisch und emotional。 Gemeinsam mit der Layoutgestaltung entsteht ein Gesamtkunstwerk， das einen gelegentlich erschlägt， so dass nach hundert blau eingefärbten Blatträndern und Überschriften nicht mehr jede zoologische oder botanische Schönheit ihre Wirkung entfaltet。 Es fehlt dann der Kontrast。 Trotzdem überzeugt das Buch die meiste Zeit un Blau als Eindruck und Chemie， als Pigment und Gestein， in der Sprache， im Tier- und Pflanzenreich。 Kupferschmidt nähert sich der Farbe wissenschaftlich， historisch und emotional。 Gemeinsam mit der Layoutgestaltung entsteht ein Gesamtkunstwerk， das einen gelegentlich erschlägt， so dass nach hundert blau eingefärbten Blatträndern und Überschriften nicht mehr jede zoologische oder botanische Schönheit ihre Wirkung entfaltet。 Es fehlt dann der Kontrast。 Trotzdem überzeugt das Buch die meiste Zeit und ist， obwohl monochromatisch， dann doch facetten- und lehrreich。 Und bewegend， gerade wenn der Autor persönlich wird， wie am Anfang und Schluss des Buches。 。。。more
Jilly
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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 exchan 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。 。。。more
Brenda
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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 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！ 。。。more
Steve
，
Outstanding science writingKai 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 unt Outstanding science writingKai 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。 。。。more
Amanda
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A cerulean dreamThis 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 A cerulean dreamThis 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。 。。。more
Elif
，
I’ve learned a lot from this book， and they are not just about the colour blue。https://elifthereader。com/books/blue-。。。 I’ve learned a lot from this book， and they are not just about the colour blue。https://elifthereader。com/books/blue-。。。 。。。more
Lisa Konet
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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 highl 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 。。。more
Janet
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Date reviewed/posted: January 24， 2021Publication date: June 9， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us， AND the worst sciatica attack in your life means you MIGHT sleep 3 hours a night， superspeed readers like me can read 250+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of th Date reviewed/posted: January 24， 2021Publication date: June 9， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us， AND the worst sciatica attack in your life means you MIGHT sleep 3 hours a night， superspeed readers like me can read 250+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。A globe-trotting quest to find blue in the natural world—and to understand our collective obsession with this bewitching colourBlue is a rare colour—natural blue， that is。 From morpho butterflies in the rain forest to the blue jay flitting past your window， vanishingly few living things are blue—and most that appear so are doing sleight of hand with physics or complex chemistry。 Flowers modify the red pigment anthocyanin to achieve their blue hue。 Even the blue sky above us is a trick of the light。Yet this hard-to-spot accent colour in our surroundings looms large in our affections。 Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has been fascinated by blue since childhood。 His quest to find and understand his favourite colour and its hallowed place in our culture takes him to a gene-splicing laboratory in Japan， a volcanic lake in Oregon， and to Brandenburg， Germany—home of the last Spix’s macaws。 From deep underground where blue minerals grow into crystals to miles away in space where satellites gaze down at our “blue marble” planet， wherever we do find blue， it always has a story to tell。I am not sure what I expected， aside from maybe an interesting journey into finding blue things in the world but what I got was a textbook worthy of a class I would fail - physics， math， and chemistry to boot。 I actually hate the colour blue but was interested in finding out why it was so rare in nature but what I got was like a mandatory science class I had to take in high school。 Not for me， onto the next book。 As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it 🦚 。。。more
Lauren
，
Firstly thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment publishers for the ARC ebook of this book。 This book is beautiful。 Kupferschmidt has travelled the world in search of answers as to why the colour blue is so rare and special in nature。 The answer - science。 The book takes the reader through the history of the colour blue， starting with it's original sources from rocks through to manufacture of blue dyes， the science behind how we see the colour blue， why and how plants and animals are certain co Firstly thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment publishers for the ARC ebook of this book。 This book is beautiful。 Kupferschmidt has travelled the world in search of answers as to why the colour blue is so rare and special in nature。 The answer - science。 The book takes the reader through the history of the colour blue， starting with it's original sources from rocks through to manufacture of blue dyes， the science behind how we see the colour blue， why and how plants and animals are certain colours。 Whilst main focus of the book is the colour blue， there is a lot of background on how light interacts with molecules to allow us to see certain colours as well as an overview of how our eyes work。I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it extremely informative， but many readers may find this too textbook like。 It certainly helps having a scientific background。This is definitely a book that is aimed more towards a specialist audience than the everyday reader。 I did also find that some of the topics jumped around a little too erratically at some points， making it difficult to follow at points。Overall， a great introduction to the science of colours and perfect in print or ebook format so that the wonderful pictures can be enjoyed。 。。。more
Michaela
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Das ist doch mal ein Sachbuch， bei dem einfach alles stimmt。Blau erzählt， warum Blau eine so besondere Farbe ist。Übrigens statistisch gesehen die Lieblingsfarbe der meisten Menschen。Ich habe viel gelernt， gestaunt und geschmunzelt。Auch die Gestaltung ist super - ganz in Blau， auch wenn manche Texte blau auf blau nicht immer einfach zu lesen sind。Ich fühle mich nach der Lektüre bestätigt: Ich liebe Blau und jetzt weiß ich auch， warum。
Christina Widmann
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