The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements showcases everyone's favorite scientific organization tool in a way it's never been seen before.
Science writer Sam Kean crosses a discussion of chemistry with humorous forays into human history and seemingly useless trivia. Kean groups the elements into unconventional categories then sets out to explain each one. He tells about its discovery, details unusual properties and discloses the sometimes racy human interest stories related to each element.
The title Disappearing Spoon comes from a tale about gallium, which is a solid metal until you hold it in your hand. When even a slight bit of heat is applied, a gallium spoon would quickly become nothing more than a puddle of molten metal. Other elements are personified for easy understanding. Take carbon, for example. Kean calls carbon "promiscuous," and notes that the element will "latch onto virtually anything."
While most science geeks know how crazy "mad" scientists can be, The Disappearing Spoon tells not only about the dramas of these men and women, but also about history, finance, poison, mythology, war and the arts. While the book does cover all of the elements in the periodic table, it isn't always as well connected and organized as the table itself. Instead, it wanders off on tenuously connected tangents that relate back in some small way to the element at hand.
The Disappearing Spoon, released in 2010, was Kean's first book. It landed on the New York Times national bestseller list. Kean is primarily a science journalist, and has been published in Mental Floss, Slate, and Science. He's also made appearances on NPR's "Radiolab" and "All Things Considered."
"I love the hell out of this book. It seems strange to love a book about the periodic table and chemistry in general (a class I abhorred in high school), but it was well-written and kept my attention for the entire read (which is difficult to do). An excellent read."
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Bayley (5 out of 5 stars)