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funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
I think I would have been able to give this book 3 stars if it hadn't disappointed me so much. The title was highly misleading, as most of the "stories" were really very much about the elements and their atoms and not particularly about the people who were obsessed with understanding them. The book was organized so poorly that I honestly kept forgetting who had done what and why it mattered. Overall this book had a lot of breadth but almost no depth. I think the author missed a lot of opportunities to tell really fascinating stories about really fascinating things.
Imagine that you meet a person and ask them to tell you everything they know about the periodic table, and a glorious infodump follows.
There's a vague structure, as one idea leads to the next, which leads to the next, sometimes circling back to the first in a "oh-yeah-and-" kind of way.
It's also kind of frustrating, as you're not really sure what's coming, in what order, or why. Is this author ever going to go back to address that one incomplete thought that occurred half a chapter ago? It's a mystery.
That said, I found the story telling immensely interesting until about 3/4 of the way through, where it took an inexplicable turn to the dry side.
The audiobook was well-narrated.
There's a vague structure, as one idea leads to the next, which leads to the next, sometimes circling back to the first in a "oh-yeah-and-" kind of way.
It's also kind of frustrating, as you're not really sure what's coming, in what order, or why. Is this author ever going to go back to address that one incomplete thought that occurred half a chapter ago? It's a mystery.
That said, I found the story telling immensely interesting until about 3/4 of the way through, where it took an inexplicable turn to the dry side.
The audiobook was well-narrated.
This is such a good book. The stories are fun and educational. And the science isn't too hard for the layperson (like myself) to follow along with and understand.
Interesting read. Brought back memories of Chemistry classes I took in college. I liked how the author wrote this book to an "intellectual" audience. It made it a much more enjoyable read. He included a "Notes" section with references to where he got a lot of his information. Our world is amazing and physics and chemistry has just started to explain it. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a great explanation of all the elements on the periodic table.
I enjoyed this book. As someone without a science background, I found it was generally easy enough to follow, though did struggle when it got deeper into the science stuff. I really just enjoyed the different stories of the people who discovered the elements and learning about what the elements do/how they're used (as opposed to learning about their composition).
This book is fascinating from start to finish. I had wanted to read the adult version, published in 2010, but I've glad that I actually read it in the Young Reader's Edition as I, a non-sciencey person, had to work to understand the information about the elements and the science behind their discoveries. I'm sure I would have been completely lost if I wasn't reading the amended version.
I am so glad I did get to it finally! Thank you, Sam Kean, for making science more accessible for the likes of me.
I am so glad I did get to it finally! Thank you, Sam Kean, for making science more accessible for the likes of me.
informative