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22nd out of 596 books
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1,315 voters
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by
Sam Kean
The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of...more
Hardcover, 394 pages
Published
July 12th 2010
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published 2010)
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Jan 18, 2013
Paul
marked it as i-bet-i-never-finish-these
My GR friend Jason writes sturdy and trustworthy reviews, but I must take exception with him here :
The Disappearing Spoon is quick, light reading out in the sun. It handles complex theory in a comfortable, approachable way.
Yes, it is all that, IF such stuff as this makes sense to you :
The strongest solo acid is still the boron-based carborane (HCB11C111) And this boron acid has the best punchline so far : it's simultaneously the world's strongest and gentlest acid. To wrap your head around that,...more
The Disappearing Spoon is quick, light reading out in the sun. It handles complex theory in a comfortable, approachable way.
Yes, it is all that, IF such stuff as this makes sense to you :
The strongest solo acid is still the boron-based carborane (HCB11C111) And this boron acid has the best punchline so far : it's simultaneously the world's strongest and gentlest acid. To wrap your head around that,...more
Stop the search. Recall the teams. I have found the non-fiction, summer read of 2010! The Disappearing Spoon.
First, what’s a summer read, Mr. Josey Wales thumbnail photo? A summer read is one you can enjoy during a vacation to the beach, with fresh cocktails and clean towels provided by the swarthy, bronzed attendant at a seafront hotel. You can finish it in a few days in bite-sized chunks, it doesn’t overpower you academically, you learn a little, and the subject is something entirely new to yo...more
First, what’s a summer read, Mr. Josey Wales thumbnail photo? A summer read is one you can enjoy during a vacation to the beach, with fresh cocktails and clean towels provided by the swarthy, bronzed attendant at a seafront hotel. You can finish it in a few days in bite-sized chunks, it doesn’t overpower you academically, you learn a little, and the subject is something entirely new to yo...more
46 likes · like · see review
Jul 07, 2011
Woodge
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mad scientists (happy ones too)
This book was an interesting compendium of stories linking up the various elements of the Periodic Table. Not only did I learn about the various scientists who discovered this or that element, but I learned a good deal about many of the elements themselves. It was entertaining enough that I kept coming back to it to read more. I've got a much better understanding now of elements and what makes them differ from each other. And I didn't even realize that elements can change (or decay) into other e...more
8 likes · like · see review
Think back to your high school chemistry class. Chances are, the artwork adorning the classroom probably contained a poster with the periodic table of the elements. For some reason, all through 7 chemistry classes, my favorite was tungsten.
Pop quiz - what is the chemical symbol for tungsten? Why, "W" of course! Why not T or Tu or Tg?? The "W"is for wolfram, the German name for tungsten. Without it, those handy incandescent lightbulbs would not operate if it weren't for those tungsten filaments.
I...more
Pop quiz - what is the chemical symbol for tungsten? Why, "W" of course! Why not T or Tu or Tg?? The "W"is for wolfram, the German name for tungsten. Without it, those handy incandescent lightbulbs would not operate if it weren't for those tungsten filaments.
I...more
So far, not so great. The degree of anthropomorphizing of atoms in the introductory chapters has left me completely puzzled about the actual science involved. I have no idea what it means that oxygen is "a bully." Does oxygen shake down other atoms for electrons? How does that even work?
However, the chapter on chemical warfare has been (disturbing but) interesting. If the rest of the book is historical-figures character-driven, rather than atomic character-driven, then my overall opinion of the...more
3 likes · like · see review
This does for the periodic table what I am always trying to do for math....link the science to the historical events, the people, and the economics that push scientific discoveries. I was fascinated by the many details about the hunt for elements, the private lives of the Curies, the radioactive boy scout, the dangers of storing rare elements in the Congo, and that the same man who invented nitrogen rich fertilizers, is also the inventor of zyklon B. It also made me want to read more about The M...more
Okay. Let me tell it to you honestly.
This book is not the most well written book - the sentences are clunky and there is not a clear narrative. It is much more of a rambling collection of stories and facts and quirky science knowledge.
That said, I couldn't get back to reading this fast enough. I thought about a book about the scientific table throughout the day. I stole a few minutes wherever I could. I carried this book with me and was even *gasp* early to pick up the kids so that I could read...more
This book is not the most well written book - the sentences are clunky and there is not a clear narrative. It is much more of a rambling collection of stories and facts and quirky science knowledge.
That said, I couldn't get back to reading this fast enough. I thought about a book about the scientific table throughout the day. I stole a few minutes wherever I could. I carried this book with me and was even *gasp* early to pick up the kids so that I could read...more
7 likes · like · see review
I enjoyed reading this book. It is a good mixture of stories, theories, facts, and trivia related to the periodic table (but much more interesting than that might sound). The author strikes a good balance between explaining the chemistry and telling related stories in an entertaining way. Along the way, he covers the "human side" of the scientists who made key discoveries related to the periodic table; how science is affected by both commerce and politics, even office politics within labs; the e...more
1 like · like · see review
For me this book was a pleasure to listen to. I plan to read a paper or e-book edition shortly. A delightful, an engaging blend of lyrical prose, historic anecdotes and fascinating information. Reminiscent, to me, of some of the writing of Lewis Thomas, Oliver Sacks, Barry Lopez, Edward Abbey and John McPhee.
Brain/mind candy or chicken soup for the nerd's soul. Does that make me a dualist?
The chapter essays are wide ranging anecdotal expositions of elements and families of elements. Not only sto...more
Brain/mind candy or chicken soup for the nerd's soul. Does that make me a dualist?
The chapter essays are wide ranging anecdotal expositions of elements and families of elements. Not only sto...more
This is the kind of science book I really enjoy. It's written for the layperson, it has a lot of really interesting stories, and it focuses a lot on the people behind the science and gives the human element (see also A Short History of Nearly Everything).
I love that I now know why lithium works in helping people cope with depression and bipolar disorder (and it's such a fascinating reason!), and that I better understand some of the chemistry involved in the periodic table. I also definitively l...more
I love that I now know why lithium works in helping people cope with depression and bipolar disorder (and it's such a fascinating reason!), and that I better understand some of the chemistry involved in the periodic table. I also definitively l...more
This book holds my interest because most things science do; however, it's not as flowing prose as Bill Bryson's writing is. And the one thing that annoyed me from the first chapter (I've only read one chapter) is the part where he said that most of the world is used to reading left to right and right to left, but not so much up and down, except for some cases of Japanese writing. HELLOOO! Chinese writing pre-dates Japanese writing and is read up and down..and given how many Chinese people there...more
Chemistry for non-chemists. It started and ended slowly, but around the time he started talking about planets I got really into it. Around the time he got into chemistry in extreme temperatures, I was done.
That said, he makes chemistry fun, especially the history and personalities that are involved.
That said, he makes chemistry fun, especially the history and personalities that are involved.
This was a fascinating book. Chemistry was my toughest subject in high school, and I have never really understood it, but this book does not require an understanding of chemistry to entertain and engage. Actually, it helped me understand chemistry a lot better while providing fascinating historical facts. Who knew Marie Curie had a reputation as a femme fatale? That "aluminum" is the way Americans spell "aluminium" because of a patent, much like Kleenex and styrofoam. Fascinating stuff!
People have came across books from many different people many gain knowledge of a book from family or friends. It is rare when someone gets a book in class the they find really interesting. The book I’m talking about is Disappearing spoons by Sam Kean this is a non-fiction book which is the kind of genre that would rarely read, but yet gained my interest in it. This is a book i recommend for people who love to gain the knowledge of the origins of life. this is a great book that talks about how t...more
I'll have to out myself as a science moron here. I was never a fan of chemistry, and still feel sorry for those poor women who had to be my lab partner in high school. So what was I doing reading a book about the periodic table?
As based on the title and a review I read, I thought this book would be more...trite. Full of cute anecdotes and that's it. And it did have a bit of that, but also a lot more.
Truth is, I enjoyed most of it. The history of the periodic table was great stuff that I doubt I...more
As based on the title and a review I read, I thought this book would be more...trite. Full of cute anecdotes and that's it. And it did have a bit of that, but also a lot more.
Truth is, I enjoyed most of it. The history of the periodic table was great stuff that I doubt I...more
Sam Kean took on a daunting task, I think. You can tell that he aimed to bring the periodic table and chemistry to the masses in a fun anecdotal way. In the Disappearing Spoon, Kean collects stories about the various elements from across history that includes both scientific facts, stories that highlight some of the more interesting properties of the elements, and he even includes some of the quirky personality traits of their founders and well-known chemists.
That being said, however, I'm not s...more
That being said, however, I'm not s...more
كتابنا لهذا اليوم بعنوان:
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
للكاتب الشاب سام كيين.
و هو من أشد الكتب التي ألفت في مجال الكيمياء تميزاً.
يحكي الكتاب بأسلوب إبداعي غير مسبوق تاريخ العالم كما يقرؤه المؤلف من عناصر الجدول الدوري المعروف لدى الكيميائيين .. إذ يروي قصة اكتشاف كل عنصر و كيف أدى اكتشافه إلى إحداث تغييرات في حياة الناس، كما يربط الخصائص الكيميائية للعناصر بملامح مختلفة من الحياة العامة كالمال و...more
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
للكاتب الشاب سام كيين.
و هو من أشد الكتب التي ألفت في مجال الكيمياء تميزاً.
يحكي الكتاب بأسلوب إبداعي غير مسبوق تاريخ العالم كما يقرؤه المؤلف من عناصر الجدول الدوري المعروف لدى الكيميائيين .. إذ يروي قصة اكتشاف كل عنصر و كيف أدى اكتشافه إلى إحداث تغييرات في حياة الناس، كما يربط الخصائص الكيميائية للعناصر بملامح مختلفة من الحياة العامة كالمال و...more
Read for a library book club.
I could care less about chemistry. Then came Mr. Kean. I did not want to read this book. An entire book about the periodic table? No. Thank. You.
Mr. Kean got just about everything right. If Mr. Kean and MythBusters had been around when I was in middle and high school, I would have been absolutely fascinated by science. Mr. Kean has dug up unbelievably amazing stories about each element - what scientists have done in order to become famous, make a discovery, be of val...more
I could care less about chemistry. Then came Mr. Kean. I did not want to read this book. An entire book about the periodic table? No. Thank. You.
Mr. Kean got just about everything right. If Mr. Kean and MythBusters had been around when I was in middle and high school, I would have been absolutely fascinated by science. Mr. Kean has dug up unbelievably amazing stories about each element - what scientists have done in order to become famous, make a discovery, be of val...more
This was a really fun book for me to read. You probably already need to really like Chemistry to get through the 340+ pages with additional footnotes but if you like Chemistry and ever stared longingly at the periodic table, seeing some kind of elegance you didn't fully understand, this was written for you.
The first couple chapters are there to make sense out of the table as a whole. Then they are broken up by elements with similar properties. This allows Kean to explain how the vertical and hor...more
The first couple chapters are there to make sense out of the table as a whole. Then they are broken up by elements with similar properties. This allows Kean to explain how the vertical and hor...more
Reading the Disappearing Spoon was quite a challenge for me. I greatly enjoyed all the interesting stories that were told about each element in the periodic table. For example, a discussion of gold and aluminum explored the legends of Midas and Croesus, an Australian gold rush, and the reason why aluminum is at the top of the Washington monument (it was extremely valuable until a guy figured out how to use electricity to separate it from other minerals and then founded ALCOA). Other interesting...more
Chemistry was distinctly not my thing in my college days. This book was on a “top 10 science books of 2010″ list, however, so I picked it up. It did not disappoint. I’d compare it to Bryson’s “Short History of Nearly Everything” in that it illuminates the scientific concepts by telling the tales of the individuals who made the discoveries or, in some cases, were affected by quirks of chemistry.
I found the writing graceful and clear but it wass dense and I found myself skipping back frequently. D...more
I found the writing graceful and clear but it wass dense and I found myself skipping back frequently. D...more
This book constipated my reading for almost a month. I have overdue fines from other books that were stacked up behind it. Not because I wasn't enjoying the book: it's readable, fascinating, and chock full of the very anecdotes about science and scientists that I love. So then, why the hell did I find this book so hard?
It's precisely because the book is a collection of anecdotes that it was so hard to read. I felt like I was trying to grasp quicksilver (mercury, symbol Hg from Latin hydragyrum,...more
It's precisely because the book is a collection of anecdotes that it was so hard to read. I felt like I was trying to grasp quicksilver (mercury, symbol Hg from Latin hydragyrum,...more
Just to get this out of the way: I liked this book quite a bit. I learned a lot about chemistry, and there were a number of interesting historical tidbits. Anyone interested in history will find this book engaging, and nobody could argue that it's well written.
However, I was a little disappointed. The title implies that it's a sweeping look at all of human history, using the periodic table as a thematic link, but that's not really true. Instead, it mostly focuses on the scientific history of the...more
However, I was a little disappointed. The title implies that it's a sweeping look at all of human history, using the periodic table as a thematic link, but that's not really true. Instead, it mostly focuses on the scientific history of the...more
This book takes a monumental topic -- the periodic table -- and breaks it down into various digestible topic areas. While I enjoyed it (and learned a lot of history of science trivia I'd been unaware of, what with my head stuck in the 18th century) and had a few "a-ha" moments as some organic chemistry concepts FINALLY made sense to me (14 years after my last ochem class), I have two big problems with the book.
-1 star because the book needed editing. Badly. Kean's writing is usually OK, but som...more
-1 star because the book needed editing. Badly. Kean's writing is usually OK, but som...more
If you read one book this year, make it Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon (..and other tales from the periodic table).
For those who hated chemistry after high school and couldn't quite understand the notes of sheer LOVE our professors used for this dry and seemingly pointless table, you would wish a thousand times that this treasure of a book was in print then.
Full of quirky anecdotes about all the elements in the periodic table (in no particular order) and replete with lots of stories of even...more
For those who hated chemistry after high school and couldn't quite understand the notes of sheer LOVE our professors used for this dry and seemingly pointless table, you would wish a thousand times that this treasure of a book was in print then.
Full of quirky anecdotes about all the elements in the periodic table (in no particular order) and replete with lots of stories of even...more
Sometimes books just fall in my lap....
Although I do pretty much put myself in a position where they seem to fall from the sky at a brisk rate. I went to Barnes & Noble the other day with the wife, ostensibly to get a cup of coffee, and picked up this book and Jose Saramago's 'The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis'. I couldn't tell you what it was about it that caught my attention.
I'm doing that thing again where I read too many books at once, but despite my inward pleas to the contrary, I...more
Although I do pretty much put myself in a position where they seem to fall from the sky at a brisk rate. I went to Barnes & Noble the other day with the wife, ostensibly to get a cup of coffee, and picked up this book and Jose Saramago's 'The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis'. I couldn't tell you what it was about it that caught my attention.
I'm doing that thing again where I read too many books at once, but despite my inward pleas to the contrary, I...more
3 likes · like · see review
I was a chemical engineering major in college, so some of the background information (like the basics of the periodic table) was familiar to me and therefore a little tedious to read. Outside of that, however, this was a fascinating book that I think would be accessible to non-beakerheads.
Each chapter is devoted to a group of elements that are related. Instead of going for the obvious groupings (the inert gasses, the halogens, etc.) he comes at them from a refreshingly sideways direction. There'...more
Each chapter is devoted to a group of elements that are related. Instead of going for the obvious groupings (the inert gasses, the halogens, etc.) he comes at them from a refreshingly sideways direction. There'...more
In this book Sam Kean reviews the ordering and discovery of the elements, the history of the periodic table, the people who developed it, and the uses to which the elements are put. Despite the dryness of that description, the book is anything but dry: Sam Kean animates the book with personal accounts of the chemists and physicists who did the work, including their foibles as well as their genius.
The scope of the topics covered is enormous and thoroughly engaging, including war (e.g., bromine),...more
The scope of the topics covered is enormous and thoroughly engaging, including war (e.g., bromine),...more
Apr 01, 2011
Cheryl Gatling
added it
While Sam Kean was studying physics in college, he found the formulas and lab work dull, but was fascinated by his professors' "science chitchat," interesting little stories about the elements' role in "history, etymology, alchemy, mythology, literature, poison forensics, and psychology." He writes, "There's a funny, or odd, or chilling tale attached to every element of the periodic table." And this book tells those tales. There is a structure to this book. Kean goes through the periodic table r...more
Listened to this book (13 hours!) on a trip last week. Very interesting stories, particularly the radioactive boy scout and lots about the scientists who discovered the elements and the politics behind the stories. Some I had heard before, like the Watson/Crick "discovery" of the double helix, for which others should have shared int he credit. I particularly liked the discussions about how chemicals have improved our lives, including the author's assertion that we are who we are because of speci...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science and Natur...: April 2013: The Disappearing Spoon | 29 | 40 | Apr 25, 2013 06:08am | |
| Element 117 | 1 | 33 | Jul 15, 2012 06:11pm | |
| For Science Geeks | 9 | 56 | Jul 15, 2012 06:08pm | |
| npr article | 1 | 59 | Jul 19, 2010 03:21pm |
Sam Kean is a writer in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, The Believer, Air & Space, Science, and The New Scientist. He is currently working as a reporter at Science magazine and as a 2009 Middlebury Environmental Journalism fellow.
From SamKean.com
(Un)Official Bio:
Sam Kean gets called Sean at least once a month. He grew up in South Dak...more
More about Sam Kean...
From SamKean.com
(Un)Official Bio:
Sam Kean gets called Sean at least once a month. He grew up in South Dak...more
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“Never underestimate spite as a motivator for genius.”
—
22 people liked it
“Think of the most fussy science teacher you ever had. The one who docked your grade if the sixth decimal place in your answer was rounded incorrectly; who tucked in his periodic table T-shirt, corrected every student who said "weight" when he or she meant "mass", and made everyone, including himself, wear goggles even while mixing sugar water. Now try to imagine someone whom your teacher would hate for being anal-retentive. That is the kind of person who works for a bureau of standards and measurement.”
—
9 people liked it
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