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A grab-bag of information and stories more or less related to the periodic table of the elements. The writing is pretty good, but the chapters are general-interest magazine articles written too late for the era of the general-interest magazine, and do not benefit from being grouped together on the unlikely premise that they together form a coherent book.
Still, you know, it's fine.
Still, you know, it's fine.
It's not every day that I get to rate two books five stars, back to back. This was one of the best nonfictions I have read in the past year. Sam Kean tells the tale of the Periodic Table, but not in a dry, technical language. Instead, he tells you the behind-the-scenes stories of each of the elements and how they were discovered. Each element's family history, abilities, relations, similarities, and uses are all told. Some stories involve war, intrigue, mystery, pure science, and a lot of head scratching. I have not read another author who was able to take physics and chemistry and weave them into such a great tale. I almost felt like I was reading a Sherlock Holmes type story at certain points of the book. He keeps the pages turning quickly.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Історії про хімію та хіміків, не особливо структуровані або пов'язані між собою, але достатньо цікаві.
informative
medium-paced
I had a really tough time with this one So much so that after 150 pages I threw in the towel. The science is fascinating and the book is well researched but, oh, the writing. Long, winding sentences. Strange, careening tangents which go on for so long you forget what you were reading about in the first place. The author likes to introduce something, jump somewhere else entirely, and then jump back. The transitions are jarring and often confusing. The end notes are half footnotes (some of which expand on the text, some of which recommend further reading) and half sloppy references (this quote was said by so-and-so in this book). Their haphazard nature made it all the more annoying to have to flip to the back of the book for them.
First third was really entertaining. Gets rather disjointed after that.
Interesting. I learned a lot. Not sure how much I will actually remember, but it was good. Well written and surprisingly not boring considering the subject matter. You don't need a heavy chemistry background to understand it, but you definitely need to be in the mood for chemistry!
Ever wanted to learn about the periodic table of elements through stories? Okay me either, but this was that and it was awesome! You definitely have to be a bit nerdy to want to read it though, for sure.