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It goes without saying that while it is my name that appears on the front cover, this book would never have come into existence without the hard work and expertise of a great number of people helping me along the way. So starting from the beginning, with my awesome literary agent, Will Francis: Thank you, Will, for getting in touch back in 2008 after reading
Life in the Universe
and for all your guidance and encouragement over the years since, and, let’s be honest, for outright hassling me into going beyond simply mulling over this concept in the back of my mind and actually researching and writing a book on it . . . Thanks too to Kirsty Gordon, Rebecca Folland, and Jessie Botterill in the Janklow & Nesbit agency offices in London for all their help, as well as PJ Mark and Michael Steger in New York.

Thank you to Stuart Williams at The Bodley Head and Colin Dickerman at Penguin Group (USA) for showing so much enthusiasm for the idea and for your faith in me actually pulling this ambitious project off. I’m enormously indebted to Colin, and especially Jörg Hensgen (The Bodley Head) for his unbelievably skillful and perceptive editing of my writing: any finesse in this finished book is from his exquisite craftsmanship, which has uncovered and polished a sculpture hidden within the roughly hewn block of stone I submitted as a first draft. Many thanks also to Akif Saifi and Mally Anderson for all her help and to Scott Moyers (Penguin), who seamlessly took over from Colin Dickerman. And a greatly appreciative bow to Katherine Ailes (The Bodley Head), particularly for all her efforts in securing such a stunning set of images to adorn these pages and bring the words alive. Thanks too to Maria Garbutt-Lucero and Will Smith (The Bodley Head) and Samantha Choy Park, Sarah Hutson, and Tracy Locke (Penguin) for your help with the publicity and marketing of the book.

The subject matter of this book is very eclectic, and has taken me far beyond the horizons of my own academic field of expertise. Conducting the research has brought me into contact with a hugely diverse range of people, and I have been constantly warmed by the extent to which people will go in offering their time and effort to help a stranger. These contributions have been utterly invaluable and include: replying to an out-of-the-blue e-mail with useful information and tip-offs of what else to look into; agreeing to be subjected to me picking their brains with a toddler-like series of whys, whats, and hows; helping with illustrations or reading through draft chapters to check for howlers; and generously spending hours sitting down with me and explaining slowly (and repeatedly!) the details and history of their own specialties. So a deep and heartfelt thank you to:

Paul Abel, Jon Agar, Richard Alston, Stephen Baxter, Alice Bell, John Bingham, John Blair, Keith Branigan, Alan Brown, Mike Bullivant, Donal Casey, Andrew Chapple, Jonathan Cowie, Thomas Crump, Sam Davey, John Davis, Oliver de Peyer, Klaus Dodds, Julian Evans, Ben Fields, Steve Finch, Craig Gershater, Vince Gingery, Vinay Gupta, Rick Hamilton, Vincent Hamlyn, Colin Harding, Andy Hart, Rebekah Higgitt, Tim Hunkin, Alex Karalis Isaac, Richard Jones, Jason Kim, James Kneale, Roger Kneebone, Monika Koperska, Nancy Korman, Paul Lambert, Simon Lang, Marco Langbroek, Pete Lawrence, Andrew Mason, Gordon Masterton, Rich Maynard, Steve Miller, Mark Miodownik, John Mitchell, Ginny Moore, Terry Moore, Francisco Morcillo, James Mursell, Jheni Osman, Sam Pinney, David Pryor, Antony Quarrell, Noah Raford, Peter Ransom, Carole Reeves, Alby Reid, Alexander Rose, Steven Rose, Andrew Russell, Tim Sammons, Andrea Sella, Anita Seyani, James Sherwin-Smith, Tony Sizer, William Slaton, Simon Smallwood, Frank Swain, Stefan Szczelkun, Ian Thornton, Thomas Thwaites, Phiroze Vasunia, Alex Wakeford, Mike Ware, Simon Watson, Andrew Wear, Kathy Whalen Moss, Sophie Willett, Emma Williams, Andrew Wilson, Peter Wilson, Lofty Wiseman, and Marek Ziebart.

If civilization ever does go belly-up, I would feel privileged to have any of you on my post-apocalyptic survival team!

Thank you to Max Richter, Arvo Pärt, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, M83, Tom Waits, Kate Rusby, and Jon Boden (your
Songs from the Floodplain
is quite possibly the best post-apocalyptic folk album in the genre . . .) for providing the soundtrack within my work bubble, and Nor and Fat Cat cafés for putting up with my long hours of mocha mainlining and lip-chewing while writing. Your pork belly sandwiches are the pinnacle of civilized society.

Thank you too to my family and friends who have smilingly endured my repetitive dinner table and pub chat on post-apocalyptic matters, or humored me on research adventures. The final and most important thanks are, of course, to my wonderful wife. Vicky has stoically supported me through this long process, quietly tolerating the many weekends lost to a grouchy husband hunched over the laptop and effortlessly picking up my mood after an evening home alone “doing background research” from bleak post-apocalyptic films and novels.

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.

Page numbers in
italics
refer to illustrations.

acetic acid,
84
,
118
,
120

acetone,
118
,
161

acetylene,
131

acids,
82
,
84
,
92
,
104
,
113
,
116
,
120
–22

agar,
161
,
162

agriculture,
52
,
53
–77,
247
–48,
253
,
265
,
274
,
275
–76

calcium carbonate in,
109
,
110

draft animals in,
170
,
195
–98

equipment for,
60
,
62

fertilizers for,
57
,
58
,
69
,
70
,
72
,
73
,
76
,
77
n,
110
,
121
,
237
,
238
,
247
–48,
250
,
278
–79

handheld tools for,
60
,
61
,
67
,
68

herbicides and pesticides in,
57
,
77
n,
279

machinery for,
57
,
188
,
189
,
195

manure for,
61
,
69
,
70
,
73
–76,
237
,
243
,
247
,
250

Norfolk four-course rotation in,
69
–73

plants in,
53
–54,
56
,
64
–69

principles of,
56
–58

seeds in,
54
–55,
56
,
63
–64

soil in,
57
,
58
–64,
70
–72,
76
,
110

Alas, Babylon
(Frank),
165

alcohol,
89
–91,
118
–19,
120

in gasoline,
189
–90

Alkali Act,
244
n

alkalis,
82
,
84
,
104
,
113
,
114
,
116
,
120
,
212
,
234
,
243

alloys,
130
,
195
,
235
n

aluminum,
115
n,
132
,
133
,
174
n,
232
–33

ammonia,
94
,
115
,
120
,
159
,
240
n,
245
,
246
,
247
,
249
,
250

ammonium bicarbonate,
245

ammonium nitrate,
159
,
250

analgesia,
155
–57

anatomy,
154
,
158

anesthesia,
158
–59

antibiotics,
146
,
147
,
162
–63

penicillin,
12
,
162
,
163
–64

antifreeze,
119

antifungals,
155

antimalarials,
155

animals:

draft,
170
,
195
–98

livestock,
69
,
71
–73,
146
–47,
247

antiseptics,
119
,
155
,
158
,
162

antivirals,
147

Apollo program,
8

arc furnace,
132

arc lamp,
178

argon,
178

asepsis,
158

Asimov, Isaac,
162

asphalt,
120
,
187

aspirin,
157

atmospheric pressure,
284
–85

atomic hypothesis,
9
–10

atoms,
279

Atwood, Margaret,
103

Babylonians,
257
,
258

bacteria,
160

Baghdad battery,
175

balance scales,
283
,
284

barium,
233

barley,
55
,
60
,
66
,
67
,
71
–73,
86
,
89
,
90

Barnard’s star,
262
–63,
263

barometer,
141
,
144
,
284
–86

batteries,
47
–48,
174
–77,
183
,
207
,
266

Baghdad,
175

rechargeable,
175
–76,
180

Beagle,
HMS,
272
n

beer,
90
,
161

Bessemer converter,
137
–38

bicycle,
200
–201,
205

biofuels,
74
–75,
119
,
191
,
206
–7,
208

bird guano,
238
,
248
,
250

birthing forceps,
149
–50,
150

Black Death,
23

blast furnace,
136
–37,
137

bleach,
37
,
212
–13,
232

blood pressure cuff,
152

bone meal,
75
–76

books,
51
,
215
,
216
,
218

printing of,
214
–20,
276

printing press for,
12
–13,
215
–19

boron,
233

Brazil,
189
,
190

bread,
87
–90,
161

bricks,
124
–27

bridges,
29

brine,
232
,
245

Britain,
77
n

bromine,
241

Brush, Charles Francis,
179
–80,
179

buildings,
28
–30

apartment,
44
–45

butane,
191

butter,
85

buttons,
100
–101

Caesar, Julius,
261
n

calcium,
84
,
85
,
233

carbonate,
109
–10,
237

hydroxide (slaked lime; limewater),
111
,
112
,
115
,
120
,
127
,
212
,
237

hypochlorite,
212

oxide (quicklime),
110
–12,
139
,
140
,
233
,
245

sulfide,
244
n

calendar,
253
,
260
–65

cam mechanism,
171
,
171
,
203
,
204

candles,
108
,
109

canning,
92
,
291

Canticle for Leibowitz, A
(Miller),
123

capacitor,
224
–25,
226
–27

capsaicin,
155
–56

carbon,
31
,
107
,
116
,
138
,
176
,
294

dioxide,
31
–32,
110
,
245
,
279
,
294

in iron and steel,
130
,
136
,
137

monoxide,
193

carbon-black pigments,
219

carrots,
60
,
65
,
66

cars,
41
–42

alternators in,
46
–47

carts made from,
197
,
197

electric,
206
–7

motors in,
173

catalytic converter,
250

cathode rays,
152
–53

caustic soda (sodium hydroxide),
115
,
190
,
212
,
232
,
233
,
234
,
243
,
244
,
244
n

cellulose,
211
,
212
–13,
238

Celsius scale,
286

cement,
127
–28

cereal crops:

bread from,
87
–90,
161

growing,
66
,
67
,
70
–73

preparation of,
86
–91

Cesarean section,
149

chalk,
37
,
110
,
111

charcoal,
106
–7,
116
,
124
,
135
,
184

cheese,
85

chemicals,
103
–4,
110

see also
substances

chemistry,
231
–51

electrolysis,
212
,
232
–33,
234
,
249

explosives,
104
,
110
,
116
,
118
,
122
,
235
–38,
242
,
247
,
250

glass equipment for,
142

industrial,
242
–51,
253
,
278
–79

inorganic,
278
–79

organic,
279

photography,
see
photography

reversible and unidirectional reactions in,
249

Chicago, Ill.,
28

childbirth and neonatal care,
149
–50

China,
73
,
276
,
277
–78

chlorine gas,
212
,
232

cholera,
148

chronometers,
272
n

cinchona,
155

cities:

abandoning,
35
,
44
–45

cannibalizing,
49
–52

Clarke, Arthur C.,
4

clay,
124
–25,
232

cliché,
218
n

climate change,
31
–32,
45
,
294

clocks,
143
,
254
–60,
258
,
271

oscillator in,
257
–58,
271

pendulum,
257
–59,
271
,
289
–90

water,
205
,
206
,
254

clothing,
34

clothing production,
95
–102

fabrics for,
98
–101

fasteners for,
100
–101

clutch,
204

coal,
105
–8,
116
,
184
,
276
,
277

codeine,
156

cold, common,
147

collagen,
116

collodion process,
241

combined heat and power (CHP) plants,
185
,
207

combine harvesters,
68
–69,
77
n

communication,
208
,
209
–30

electrical,
220
–30,
232

paper for,
210
–13,
215
,
218
,
232
,
243
,
276

printing,
214
–20,
276

printing press for,
12
–13,
215
–19

radio,
see
radio

telegraph,
220
–21

writing,
210
–14,
215

compass,
265
–66,
276

compost,
74

compressed natural gas (CNG),
191

computers,
230

concrete,
29
,
124
,
127
,
128
–29

reinforced,
29
,
129

continental drift,
279

cooking,
79
–81,
124

copper acetate,
118

cordite,
118

corn (maize),
53
–54,
66
,
67
,
84
n,
86

Coupland, Douglas,
231

crank,
171
,
171
,
173
,
200
,
202
–3,
204

cream of tartar,
226

creosote,
83
,
119

crime and violence,
20
–22

Crookes, William,
248

cross-flow turbine,
181
–82

crude oil,
116
,
119
–20,
189
,
279

Cuba,
41
–42,
198
n

Dahl, Roald,
176

Danny, the Champion of the World
(Dahl),
187

Dark Ages,
168
,
262
,
276

Darwin, Charles,
272
n

Da Vinci effect,
14

Day of the Triffids, The
(Wyndham),
53

dead reckoning,
270

Defoe, Daniel,
33

Design that Matters,
150