The Disappearing Spoon
Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of Caesar's Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Disappearing Spoon, and The Violinist's Thumb, all of which were selected top scientific books of the year by Amazon.
His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, Mental Floss, and other journals, and he has appeared on NPR's "Radiolab," "All Things Considered," and "Fresh Air."
In The Disappearing Spoon, one of the best books on chemistry, The Periodic Table tells extraordinary stories of science, history, finance, mythology, the arts, medicine, and more, as told by New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean.
What was Gandhi's aversion to iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) almost destroy Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) so popular with laboratory pranksters? Gallium is a moldable metal that melts around 84 degrees Fahrenheit, while being solid at ambient temperature. Making gallium spoons, serving them with tea, and seeing visitors recoil as their utensils vanish is a classic science prank.
The Periodic Table is a triumph of science, but it's also a treasure mine of adventure, treachery, and passion. These enthralling stories follow each element on the table as they play out their roles in human history and the lives of the (often) insane scientists who discovered them. From the Big Bang to the end of time, The Disappearing Spoon expertly blends science with the old tale of innovation, research, and discovery.
The Disappearing Spoon was a runner-up for the Royal Society of London's book of the year in 2010, and The Violinist's Thumb and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons were both nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2013, and the AAAS/Subaru SB&F prize in 2015.
Author: Sam Kean
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632/
Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars (from 2086 reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #13,314 in Books
#2 in Inorganic Chemistry (Books)
#2 in Analytic Chemistry (Books)
#5 in Organic Chemistry (Books)
