Take a photo of a barcode or cover
An interesting read for anyone who enjoyed high school science but majored in something else in college. The author keeps things light and accessible without compromising the scientific principle under consideration. Lots of great asides about the people and history behind the discoveries, with a special emphasis on crediting the women who often worked on these discoveries but were seldom credited.
This book has everything I look for in a nonfiction science book: fun little anecdotes about scientific discoveries, explanations that are accessible yet still expand my knowledge, and written in a breezy kind of tone.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter 'Chemistry Way, Way Below Zero' which had sentences like, "One alien ice, Ice X, doesn't melt until it reaches 3,700 degrees F." If that quote makes you curious to hear more then you should read this book; if not, then give this book a pass.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter 'Chemistry Way, Way Below Zero' which had sentences like, "One alien ice, Ice X, doesn't melt until it reaches 3,700 degrees F." If that quote makes you curious to hear more then you should read this book; if not, then give this book a pass.
A really interesting book of, essentially, stories about the periodic table. Starting AS chemistry I thought it might be good to read around the subject a bit and this was a very approachable with an easy to read style (although I think that a basic base in chemistry does help). I read another similar book and this was far more engaging, and a very enjoyable read.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
I was somewhat slow getting into this book. I am an analytical chemist so I thought there would be some cool history anecdotes to learn about the different elements. Although I did find that, I found the flow of the book to be off putting. Stories kind of just segwayed into others without any real connection and it felt like run on paragraphs. At one point, it felt like the author got tired of writing and then started adding personal opinion/sass just to fill word counts. Could have been more succinct and better organized.
I wanted to like this book so much. I love the idea of the book, but so much of it was just mind-numbing for me. This should have taken me half the time to get through but in between the pockets of interesting stories were long expanses of stuff I didn't care to remember 2 minutes later. I forced myself to finish it, and I would still say, if this sort of thing seems like it might appeal to you, it's worth checking out from the library; maybe your experience will be different.
I enjoyed it - but I did not enjoy it enough to finish it after I misplaced it for a week.
While I appreciated the creative flair and historical connections presented in this book, I think Kean's writing style and use of scientific jargon made the book somewhat dull. If I was not already a massive science nerd, I would likely have found this book impossible to follow, and even though I am a science nerd, I found some chapters mind numbing while others were fascinating. Overall, I would say this book makes a great effort and is worth reading, but it took more discipline to read than it should have.
Pärast ootamatuks naudinguks osutunud "Caesari viimset ohet" tundsin, et pean sellelt autorilt veel midagi lugema. Ainuke raamat, mis lubati kohale tuua juba järgmisel päeval, oli lihtsustatud versioon raamatust "Haihtuv lusikas". See rõõmustas mind natuke, et tegu on noortele suunatud raamatuga, sest ma ise töötan nendega ja võib-olla pakub see neile ka huvi.
Selles raamatus on rohkelt juttu perioodilisustabelist ja selle ajaloost. Erinevate elementide avastuslood olid üsna võluvad, aga ma pean tõdema, et mulle meeldis "Caesari viimne ohe" rohkem. Selle raamatu puhul jäi mind natuke kummitama see, milline täiskasvanutele mõeldud versioon on ja ilmselt võtan selle ka kunagi ette juba lihtsalt sellepärast, et näha, mis noortele mõeldud variandist välja jäi. Ilmselt on seda üsna palju, sest algne versioon on ikka väga palju lehekülgi paksem.
Igatahes veel üks võrratu raamat Sam Keanilt!
Selles raamatus on rohkelt juttu perioodilisustabelist ja selle ajaloost. Erinevate elementide avastuslood olid üsna võluvad, aga ma pean tõdema, et mulle meeldis "Caesari viimne ohe" rohkem. Selle raamatu puhul jäi mind natuke kummitama see, milline täiskasvanutele mõeldud versioon on ja ilmselt võtan selle ka kunagi ette juba lihtsalt sellepärast, et näha, mis noortele mõeldud variandist välja jäi. Ilmselt on seda üsna palju, sest algne versioon on ikka väga palju lehekülgi paksem.
Igatahes veel üks võrratu raamat Sam Keanilt!