White Light: The Elemental Role of Phosphorus—in Our Cells, in Our Food, and In Our World
By Jack Lohmann
Related post: Phosphorus and the Pulse of the Planet: A Look at Jack Lohmann’s ‘White Light’
📖 Review
In White Light, Jack Lohmann delivers a deeply poetic and intellectually rich exploration of phosphorus—the vital yet often overlooked element that both fuels life and marks our decay. Bridging science, history, and philosophy, Lohmann traces phosphorus from the explosive discoveries of alchemy to its indispensable role in DNA, agriculture, and human biology.
White Light is not just about chemistry—it’s a meditation on life, death, and renewal. Lohmann’s lyrical prose elevates the science into something profoundly human.
“Cracked concrete spread out before us, brick ruins, graffiti: the grim equality of destruction by fire.”
He writes not only about phosphates and fertilizers but about our estrangement from the cycles of nature—how we strip-mine the earth and sanitize death, forgetting the ways in which decay feeds rebirth. With urgency and grace, Lohmann calls for a new reverence for the Earth’s resources and a restored relationship with our mortality.
Part science writing, part cultural critique, part spiritual inquiry, readers will walk away with a deeper understanding of phosphorus and more importantly, questioning how we live and die within a closed loop of matter and meaning. He makes the subject easy to understand and accessible to anyone, regardless of their knowledge of science.
✍️Table of Contents
Prologue: Whale Fall
Part I: Life
- Sea of Fires
- The Acid Test
- Lightbringer
Part II: Growth
- Stones from Past Times
- Rapid Change
- The Flood
- Peak and Valley
Part III: Rebirth
- The End of Everything
- Overhaul
- Tiny Tracings on a Future World
White Light glows with insight and care, illuminating life’s most fundamental—and fleeting—connections. It is recommended for readers interested in the intersections of science, sustainability, and the soul.
“Cities are composting food scraps. Disenfranchised farmers are fighting for their land. If we listen to those with knowledge—rather than those with money—it is possible to restore the cycles of the earth.”
* Thank you to Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House for the gifted copy for review consideration. I have not been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
SA Examiner 