The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Rivalry, Adventure, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements (Young Readers Edition)

by Sam Kean

4 of 5 stars 6 ratings • 3 reviews • 10 shelved
Book cover for The Disappearing Spoon

Bookhype may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.

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 the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON
  • ISBN10 0316051640
  • ISBN13 9780316051644
  • Publish Date 12 July 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 12 April 2014
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint Little, Brown & Company
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 400
  • Language English