Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc [Paperback]

In the spirit ofA Short History of Nearly EverythingcomesPeriodic Tales. Award-winning science writer Hugh Andersey-Williams offers readers a captivating look at the elements—and the amazing, little-known stories behind their discoveries.Periodic Talesis an energetic and wide-ranging book of innovations and innovators, of superstition and science and the myriad ways the chemical elements are woven into our culture, history, and language. It will delight readers ofGenome, Einstein’s Dreams,Longitude, andThe Age of Wonder. 

Like the alphabet, the calendar, or the zodiac, the periodic table of the chemical elements has a permanent place in our imagination. But aside from the handful of common ones (iron, carbon, copper, gold), the elements themselves remain wrapped in mystery. We do not know what most of them look like, how they exist in nature, how they got their names, or of what use they are to us. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colorful pasts,Periodic Talesis a passionate journey through mines and artists’ studios, to factories and cathedrals, into the woods and to the sea to discover the true stories of these fascinating but mysterious building blocks of the universe.

[A] virtuoso tour of the periodic table.[C]harming. . . . Aldersey-Williams writes with simplicity and elegance. The stories may not help you on your next chemistry test, but theyll help you appreciate the building blocks that are all around us yet all too easy to overlook.A lucid, enjoyable collection . . . that, element by element, demystifies the iconic periodic table.Aldersey-Williamss playful, hands-on approach to scientific exploration shines through the book.For the UK edition: [F]ascinating and beautiful. . . . If only chemistry had been like this at school. . . . [A] rich compilation of delicious tales.