The disappearing spoon of the title is one made of gallium. Gallium has a low melting point, and a favorite chemical student prank of the past was to cast a spoon of this metal and then hand it to someone when they served tea, in order to watch the face of the tea taker as the spoon melted in the tea cup. This is an example of the elemental anecdotes served up in this history of the periodic table and the discovery of elements.

Kean, a popular science writer, walks us through the development of the periodic table element by element. He explains how the table is structured- it’s all about electrons; how many electrons an element has, and how they are arranged. This produces elements that are stable or which form compounds easily, or which decay, giving off radiation in the process. Some of the elements aren’t even found in nature; they have to be created and observed in the lab because they only last a few seconds.

The author manages to make this understandable even to a chemistry failure like myself. He livens it up with stories of how the elements were discovered (or created) and the personalities of the people who worked on them. He tells us what the different elements are used for and how they can help- and hurt or kill- us. He helps us understand why silicon became the semi-conductor of choice, why gadolinium is used in MRIs, and how selenium, a necessary micronutrient, can drive you mad. If you like the history of science, you’ll love this book, and you’ll absorb some of the hard science along with it.