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miolin's review against another edition
2.5
Had to read this for a chemistry class, the author includes odd anecdotal bits about scientists that do not entice the reader, rather throwing them off their train of thought
princessbilbo's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Really fun and informative. The subject matter isn't my cup of tea, but still presented in an interesting way.
krjdolan's review against another edition
4.0
As a reformed physics nerd, this book definitely scratched an itch - a lot of engaging stories about chemistry with some necessary biology and physics thrown in!
The good:
- great collection of some of the idiosyncrasies of the elements and the people that work with them
- about as light a tone as you'll find for a science book!
The bad:
- if you don't already know a bit about science there are some passages that get too into the weeds which could be vexing.
The good:
- great collection of some of the idiosyncrasies of the elements and the people that work with them
- about as light a tone as you'll find for a science book!
The bad:
- if you don't already know a bit about science there are some passages that get too into the weeds which could be vexing.
emrodav's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting stuff, but oh boy the author does their very best to make the book as boring and unreadable as possible for Part 1. It was basically my high school chemistry class redux.
lennymckenny's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting chemistry stories, some were a bit of a stretch. Very obviously written by a white man who I thought subtly excused scientists' sexism/racism in favor of of their contributions to science. Yikes.
I did enjoy the discussions on the fine-structure constant and standardizing measurements to be "copernican."
I did enjoy the discussions on the fine-structure constant and standardizing measurements to be "copernican."