Books
by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
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Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements |
What a lovely mix of history, biography, chemistry and general knowledge. The author's childhood obsession with the periodic table and his (inevitably incomplete) collection of elements spill out in this collection of anecdotes clustered around the individual elements like electrons around a nucleus. Although chemistry is at its core, with its stories of discovery, usage and associated myths, this shouldn't put off the general reader even if they did get a grade 'E' Chemistry O-Level.
(Clive Yelf - bwl 96 Spring 2020) |
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Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements |
This sort of companion to Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (bwl 21) concentrates on the (chemical, not meteorological!) elements. By means of fascinating anecdotes and cultural asides the reader - even the most chemically ignorant - is swept along on the current of Aldersey-William's love for his subject, the sense of the excitement of discovery and the enthralling way the elements shape and are part of our lives. A richly brilliant book!
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 65 Summer 2012) |
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