You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Not done but DNF bc i just can’t do nonfiction even if I love the subject matter apparently
This book starts slowly and was a bit boring. That might be because I got my degree in chemistry and it was mostly a review of stuff I already knew. Then it gets really interesting as it recounts tales of the discovery and importance of many of the chemical elements. I loved the stories of the quirky, famous brilliant chemists.
If you've ever loved the stories of the various elements in the table, silvery mercury, flaming potassium, lustrous gold, you'll enjoy this tale of mystery, intrigue and competition to add elements to the table and gain the honor of naming them.
I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this book. The ending chapters moved away from the history of the various characters who filled in the periodic table and went more into the science and chemistry. For me, the book's character shifted and I found it hard to finish.
I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this book. The ending chapters moved away from the history of the various characters who filled in the periodic table and went more into the science and chemistry. For me, the book's character shifted and I found it hard to finish.
informative
slow-paced
As a brief aside, I have a degree in biochemistry so I have a fairly good grasp of chemistry and physics before I read this book. I think the author did a great job of making fairly complicated topics easy to grasp. The science education aspect of this book is quite good. I also found it really interesting to learn about how certain discoveries were awarded Nobel prizes. I think the only thing I disliked about the book was how much time was spent talking about radioactive elements. I know there are a lot of them, but to me they are less interesting than the ones that occur more often in everyday life.
informative
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
2.5 Thought it would be more interesting stories about the elements but more a history of the periodic table. Still not sure what the disappearing spoon is unless I missed it. Informative but dry.
I need to stop trying to listen to nonfiction like this - I caught about two-thirds of it and never did understand how the periodic table is organized. But when I could pay attention, the stories were quite intriguing.