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Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc
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. Welcome to a dazzling tour through history and literature, science and art. In "Periodic Tales," you'll meet iron that rains from the heavens and neon as it lights its way to vice. You'll learn how lead can tell your future and why zinc may one day line your coffin. You'll discover what connects the bones in your body with the White House in Washington, the glow of a streetlight with the salt on your dinner table.
From ancient civilizations to contemporary couture, from the oxygen of publicity to the phosphorous in your pee, the elements are near and far and all around us. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colorful pasts, "Periodic Tales" is 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.
448 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2011
1779 people are currently reading
11491 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Aldersey-Williams
22 books85 followersI was born in London in 1959, the same year C.P. Snow gave his infamous ‘two cultures’ lecture about the apparently eternal divide in Britain between the arts and sciences. Perhaps this is where it all begins. Forced to choose one or the other at school and university, I chose the latter, gaining an MA in natural sciences from Cambridge.
By graduation, I was aware of a latent interest in the arts, particularly in architecture and design, and was seeking ways to satisfy all these urges in something resembling a career. Journalism seemed the obvious answer, and after a string of increasingly disastrous editorial positions on technical magazines, I went freelance in 1986 and was able at last to write about what really interested me in newspapers and magazines in all these fields.
Having an American mother and an English father makes me, as it says on jars of honey, ‘the produce of more than one country’, and has left me with a curiosity about matters of national identity. Living in the United States gave me the opportunity to write my first book, using my semi-detachment from the culture to identify a renaissance in contemporary American design. Its success led to a larger-scale examination of design and national cultures as well as a number other design books and a five-year stint as design critic of the New Statesman.
Now, the science was losing out. Over-compensating perhaps, I wrote an entire book about a single molecule—albeit an exceptionally novel and beautiful one, called buckminsterfullerene. Here at last science and design began to merge. My projects since then have continued to explore science, design, architecture, national identity and other themes in books and exhibitions.
I am a member of the Society of Authors and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I live in Norfolk and London with my wife Moira, son Sam, and two Maine coon cats.
By graduation, I was aware of a latent interest in the arts, particularly in architecture and design, and was seeking ways to satisfy all these urges in something resembling a career. Journalism seemed the obvious answer, and after a string of increasingly disastrous editorial positions on technical magazines, I went freelance in 1986 and was able at last to write about what really interested me in newspapers and magazines in all these fields.
Having an American mother and an English father makes me, as it says on jars of honey, ‘the produce of more than one country’, and has left me with a curiosity about matters of national identity. Living in the United States gave me the opportunity to write my first book, using my semi-detachment from the culture to identify a renaissance in contemporary American design. Its success led to a larger-scale examination of design and national cultures as well as a number other design books and a five-year stint as design critic of the New Statesman.
Now, the science was losing out. Over-compensating perhaps, I wrote an entire book about a single molecule—albeit an exceptionally novel and beautiful one, called buckminsterfullerene. Here at last science and design began to merge. My projects since then have continued to explore science, design, architecture, national identity and other themes in books and exhibitions.
I am a member of the Society of Authors and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I live in Norfolk and London with my wife Moira, son Sam, and two Maine coon cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 585 reviews
March 26, 2023
Updated 6/29/13 - see link at bottom
This book is one of the reasons people will occasionally look at you, slack-jawed, and say “How did you know that?” There are a few greater feelings in life, but not many. A-W picks a few dozen of the 118 known elements and tells us a bit about them, offering stories that might be about their discovery, how they are used, or other cultural looks-see. There is unevenness, to be sure. Some stories are more interesting than others, but the overall level is quite good, informative and entertaining.
But wait, there’s more. For those of us with an affection for literary treasure-hunting, it is time to pick up some of the glowing tablets suspended in the air. A-W offers explanations and reference points for how certain materials are viewed culturally. For instance gold goes with power, iron with strength, grave lead, honest tin, virtuous silver, this is feminine, that is masculine, and so on. This is mother’s milk for those trying to ferret out elements of meaning in literature.
You will learn about the first use of carbonated water, the derivation of the word tinker, which substance is known as “liquid fire”, some alarming facts about things that glow in the dark. We think of titanium as a material used in jets or rockets, but did you know that titanium oxide is widely used to make white paint? Metals come into and pass out of fashion. One particular poison was in such widespread use that it became known as “inheritance powder”. Why was there such a concentration of element discoveries in Sweden? A-W has enough material here about color that he could write an entire book on the subject, and I hope he does.
If you enjoy learning new things, Periodic Tales will tickle your brain, right down to the atoms. It’s elementary.
==============================EXTRA STUFF
An article in the May 2013 issue of National Geographic looked at what was happening with creation of new elements. Fascinating material.
This book is one of the reasons people will occasionally look at you, slack-jawed, and say “How did you know that?” There are a few greater feelings in life, but not many. A-W picks a few dozen of the 118 known elements and tells us a bit about them, offering stories that might be about their discovery, how they are used, or other cultural looks-see. There is unevenness, to be sure. Some stories are more interesting than others, but the overall level is quite good, informative and entertaining.
But wait, there’s more. For those of us with an affection for literary treasure-hunting, it is time to pick up some of the glowing tablets suspended in the air. A-W offers explanations and reference points for how certain materials are viewed culturally. For instance gold goes with power, iron with strength, grave lead, honest tin, virtuous silver, this is feminine, that is masculine, and so on. This is mother’s milk for those trying to ferret out elements of meaning in literature.
You will learn about the first use of carbonated water, the derivation of the word tinker, which substance is known as “liquid fire”, some alarming facts about things that glow in the dark. We think of titanium as a material used in jets or rockets, but did you know that titanium oxide is widely used to make white paint? Metals come into and pass out of fashion. One particular poison was in such widespread use that it became known as “inheritance powder”. Why was there such a concentration of element discoveries in Sweden? A-W has enough material here about color that he could write an entire book on the subject, and I hope he does.
If you enjoy learning new things, Periodic Tales will tickle your brain, right down to the atoms. It’s elementary.
==============================EXTRA STUFF
An article in the May 2013 issue of National Geographic looked at what was happening with creation of new elements. Fascinating material.
March 31, 2023
This is a book about science for people that are not scientists. To pick this up you need to enjoy history and cultural connections in addition to chemistry. Periodic Tales could have been a painfully dull exercise but was anything but. Aldersey-Williams begins with a little discussion of his own childhood interest in collecting every element on the famous table of elements. Some were relatively easy to get, others as you might imagine, less so. This was a kid who had plenty of curiosity but is probably part of the reason they don’t sell “chemistry sets” in toy stores anymore. There are some nasty elements out there and they don’t belong in the hands of children. Of course, the author shows adults have their dangerous toys too. He discovers his dad’s old oil paint set with all the cadmiums, leads and heavy metals. His wife has jars of lotions and lipsticks with poorly disclosed elements.
The discovery of elements (the famous table is longer than it was when I took chemistry), the scientists and properties and uses are discussed. You’ll read some great stories. There was a time when arts and sciences were closer. Alchemy became just too fanciful for science. When the Enlightenment era came along leading scientists, artists and poets could all sit down and appreciate each other’s work. Difficult to imagine today.
It’s easy to see how an element like gold was appreciated and has many historical uses. It doesn’t tarnish, can be used as currency and is desirable purely as ornament. What to do with neon though? It is a relative late-comer to the table, isolated in 1898. Eventually in the 1940s, 50s and 60s it had a glorious life. Viva Las Vegas! Alas it is expensive, found largely in unpleasant places and in short supply today.
Aldersey-Williams says his aim in writing this book was “to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense…but also in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography… .” That’s why I think his book is so attractive.
The discovery of elements (the famous table is longer than it was when I took chemistry), the scientists and properties and uses are discussed. You’ll read some great stories. There was a time when arts and sciences were closer. Alchemy became just too fanciful for science. When the Enlightenment era came along leading scientists, artists and poets could all sit down and appreciate each other’s work. Difficult to imagine today.
It’s easy to see how an element like gold was appreciated and has many historical uses. It doesn’t tarnish, can be used as currency and is desirable purely as ornament. What to do with neon though? It is a relative late-comer to the table, isolated in 1898. Eventually in the 1940s, 50s and 60s it had a glorious life. Viva Las Vegas! Alas it is expensive, found largely in unpleasant places and in short supply today.
Aldersey-Williams says his aim in writing this book was “to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense…but also in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography… .” That’s why I think his book is so attractive.
October 8, 2025
Since Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev found a way to express the elements in a table form in 1869, scientists have been busy filling in the gaps. The most recent are Nihonium (113), Moscovium (115), Tennessine (117), and Oganesson (118), which were officially named in 2016 - three of the four still get a mention despite this book being published before they were named (published in 2011).
Near the end of the book, he states: My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects that we treasure and are under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives rises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying qualities.
And so, in his book, Aldersey-Williams has brought together a collection of anecdotes for each element. Many relate to the discovery of the element, others are about the discoverer, the location it was discovered, or references to the element in literature or art. He also travels to some of the relevant places, recreates some of the experiments in his garage, and makes an attempt to collect various elements (by ransacking his fathers old paint collection, his wife's makeup, purchasing products at art shops and hardware stores.
That diversity of descriptions and of anecdotes made it an interesting read. It didn't become to formulaic, which would have been the risk had he stuck to describing only the discoverer and discovery. Having said that there were sections that became a bit dry.
I will also throw it out there that the pictures were poorly reproduced in low resolution black and white within the text (possibly the publishers decision rather than the authors). I also found it frankly bizarre that the periodic table was not illustrated within the book, meaning on numerous occasions I had to bring it up via google to follow the progression or the relationship between one element and another. A half star off for that... I can't fathom it, really.
But as far as I can tell almost those elements known at the time of writing were mentioned, albeit many were grouped together as, for example, the rare earth elements are all very similar. I found four not mentioned at all and half a dozen that only got a passing mention.
I mention also that this isn't a fast read, or at least it wasn't for me. This one benefitted from being put down and picked up at will. I read another book in between starting and finishing, and the break mid way did me good.
4 stars.
Near the end of the book, he states: My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects that we treasure and are under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives rises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying qualities.
And so, in his book, Aldersey-Williams has brought together a collection of anecdotes for each element. Many relate to the discovery of the element, others are about the discoverer, the location it was discovered, or references to the element in literature or art. He also travels to some of the relevant places, recreates some of the experiments in his garage, and makes an attempt to collect various elements (by ransacking his fathers old paint collection, his wife's makeup, purchasing products at art shops and hardware stores.
That diversity of descriptions and of anecdotes made it an interesting read. It didn't become to formulaic, which would have been the risk had he stuck to describing only the discoverer and discovery. Having said that there were sections that became a bit dry.
I will also throw it out there that the pictures were poorly reproduced in low resolution black and white within the text (possibly the publishers decision rather than the authors). I also found it frankly bizarre that the periodic table was not illustrated within the book, meaning on numerous occasions I had to bring it up via google to follow the progression or the relationship between one element and another. A half star off for that... I can't fathom it, really.
But as far as I can tell almost those elements known at the time of writing were mentioned, albeit many were grouped together as, for example, the rare earth elements are all very similar. I found four not mentioned at all and half a dozen that only got a passing mention.
I mention also that this isn't a fast read, or at least it wasn't for me. This one benefitted from being put down and picked up at will. I read another book in between starting and finishing, and the break mid way did me good.
4 stars.
February 6, 2022
Внимание, рядко интересна и полезна книга! Категорична оценка 5 от 5 в Goodreads.
"Периодични истории" не е просто книга за откриването на химичните елементи. В нея няма да срещнем сложни или скучни обяснения, каквито вероятно си спомняте от ученическите години. Книгата ни разкрива историята, географията, геологията, митологията и дори икономиката на периодичната таблица с химични елементи. Смятах, че съм добре запознат с темата, но научих толкова много нови неща. Ето само част от тях.
В евро банкнотите се използва оцветяване, базирано на химичния елемент Европий (N=63), като една от защитите срещу фалшификация.
Най-голям брой нови елементи са открити от нобеловия лауреат по химия Глен Сиборг. На него дължим цели десет трансуранови елемента - плутоний (използван в атомната бомба над Нагасаки), америций, кюрий, берклий, калифорний, айнщайний, фермий, менделевий, нобелий и елемент 106, кръстен на самия него - сиборгий.
Димитрий Менделеев не получава Нобелова награда, най-вероятно защото яростно отрича съществуването на благородните (инертни) газове, открити от Уилям Рамзи, като ги смята за тежки изотопи на водорода и се бори против включването им в периодичната таблица.
Отравяне с талий (N=81) е описано в книгата на Агата Кристи "Сивият кон", чиято популярност води до разкриване на истински случаи на отравяне - някои поради рискови условия на труд, но други като опит за убийство.
Излишно е да казвам, че "Периодични истории" е бестселър в Англия, но е практически непозната у нас. Не се и надявам да бъде преведена, защото научната литература у нас не се радва на широка популярност. А дали вината е в публиката или издателите, оставям да прецените сами.
"Периодични истории" не е просто книга за откриването на химичните елементи. В нея няма да срещнем сложни или скучни обяснения, каквито вероятно си спомняте от ученическите години. Книгата ни разкрива историята, географията, геологията, митологията и дори икономиката на периодичната таблица с химични елементи. Смятах, че съм добре запознат с темата, но научих толкова много нови неща. Ето само част от тях.
В евро банкнотите се използва оцветяване, базирано на химичния елемент Европий (N=63), като една от защитите срещу фалшификация.
Най-голям брой нови елементи са открити от нобеловия лауреат по химия Глен Сиборг. На него дължим цели десет трансуранови елемента - плутоний (използван в атомната бомба над Нагасаки), америций, кюрий, берклий, калифорний, айнщайний, фермий, менделевий, нобелий и елемент 106, кръстен на самия него - сиборгий.
Димитрий Менделеев не получава Нобелова награда, най-вероятно защото яростно отрича съществуването на благородните (инертни) газове, открити от Уилям Рамзи, като ги смята за тежки изотопи на водорода и се бори против включването им в периодичната таблица.
Отравяне с талий (N=81) е описано в книгата на Агата Кристи "Сивият кон", чиято популярност води до разкриване на истински случаи на отравяне - някои поради рискови условия на труд, но други като опит за убийство.
Излишно е да казвам, че "Периодични истории" е бестселър в Англия, но е практически непозната у нас. Не се и надявам да бъде преведена, защото научната литература у нас не се радва на широка популярност. А дали вината е в публиката или издателите, оставям да прецените сами.
October 8, 2011
The author goes off in too many directions with his story-telling for me to want to stick to reading his book. I read over a hundred pages and can't seem to find it interesting due to how the author goes about writing it. From memories of gathering as many elements of the periodic table during his childhood, to drawn out stories of how a present day person is producing charcoal, to historical tales of elements, and then to the author personally experimenting to abstract an element. It makes you want to beg the author to please pick a style of writing and stick with it. I'm going to find it hard to pick this book up again to finish.
June 17, 2021
My loyal readers know that I have a thing about not rehashing the plots of fiction novels. Unfortunately, however, I did not take notes as I went along with this book, so I don't have specific examples of the author's success in carrying out his objective.
In brief, I'm just going to say that he manages quite well to work in some of the more obscure, lesser known elements along with the big names successfully, though there's not much one can do with some of the modern, synthetic ones produced in a lab. I felt he did a terrific job with using the periodic table as a framework to discuss history and sociology as well, making the book quite approachable for a general reader with limited scientific background.
A couple of times he tries to recreate certain findings himself at home, as well as visiting famous chemical locations, which come across as genuine curiosity rather than fulfilling a book contract, or just a dilettante exercise in general. I would highly recommend this book to readers over other similar ones which have a much more scientific focus, checking off elements on a list. Highly recommended.
Final note that if you're thinking about this one as a library book, might want to factor in needing a renewal as well.
In brief, I'm just going to say that he manages quite well to work in some of the more obscure, lesser known elements along with the big names successfully, though there's not much one can do with some of the modern, synthetic ones produced in a lab. I felt he did a terrific job with using the periodic table as a framework to discuss history and sociology as well, making the book quite approachable for a general reader with limited scientific background.
A couple of times he tries to recreate certain findings himself at home, as well as visiting famous chemical locations, which come across as genuine curiosity rather than fulfilling a book contract, or just a dilettante exercise in general. I would highly recommend this book to readers over other similar ones which have a much more scientific focus, checking off elements on a list. Highly recommended.
Final note that if you're thinking about this one as a library book, might want to factor in needing a renewal as well.
October 20, 2012
This wasn't quite as engaging to me as the blurb and the reviews quoted on the cover suggests -- in fact, it started to feel rather meandering -- but it is quite an interesting read, covering both the scientific history of elements, how and when they were discovered, and the social histories, why they were used and for what. Some facts I didn't know; other parts I got impatient with: yes, yes, I know all that.
Overall, worth a read if it sounds interesting to you, but be prepared to skip bits where he's telling you things you're not interested in/already know.
Overall, worth a read if it sounds interesting to you, but be prepared to skip bits where he's telling you things you're not interested in/already know.
September 16, 2018
I will admit that I am starting to get a bit weary of popular science books. Do not get me wrong being trained as a chemist and working in science and engineering for many years I find these books fascinating.
The problem lies in the fact that the subject is so huge they have to give a hook, something personal that will get the reading not only interested but also to connect with the book. Now I will admit I have read my fair shore of this type of book only to realise I either have nothing in common with the writer or worse still I actually disagree with them - so why would I waste my time and effort in reading their book. Sadly it seems that there are more than their fair share of these books out there.
But not with this one.
Basically you have a scientists who not only knows what he is talking about but also how to present it in an accessible and fun manner he has also had experience on how to create displays and exhibits so he knows how to keep your attention.
So what of the book then - well you have several layers to this book. The first is that of the story of him deciding to create his own collection of elements from periodic table, now some are incredibly easy to source others are near on impossible.
But you also have historical stories of the elements. However rather than just dry stories of their discovery and who made them there are also side stories about how they were used or even how they became famous and had their 15minutes of fame (from St Pauls cathedral to Napoleons death).
Each chapter and even each sub-section tells a fun and fascinating tale along the way while we watch the author try (and sometimes fail) to add another element to his collection.
I will admit this was a total gamble although I am sure I recognised the title from somewhere - however I am very glad I did and I am sure I will be referring back to this book again in the future.
The problem lies in the fact that the subject is so huge they have to give a hook, something personal that will get the reading not only interested but also to connect with the book. Now I will admit I have read my fair shore of this type of book only to realise I either have nothing in common with the writer or worse still I actually disagree with them - so why would I waste my time and effort in reading their book. Sadly it seems that there are more than their fair share of these books out there.
But not with this one.
Basically you have a scientists who not only knows what he is talking about but also how to present it in an accessible and fun manner he has also had experience on how to create displays and exhibits so he knows how to keep your attention.
So what of the book then - well you have several layers to this book. The first is that of the story of him deciding to create his own collection of elements from periodic table, now some are incredibly easy to source others are near on impossible.
But you also have historical stories of the elements. However rather than just dry stories of their discovery and who made them there are also side stories about how they were used or even how they became famous and had their 15minutes of fame (from St Pauls cathedral to Napoleons death).
Each chapter and even each sub-section tells a fun and fascinating tale along the way while we watch the author try (and sometimes fail) to add another element to his collection.
I will admit this was a total gamble although I am sure I recognised the title from somewhere - however I am very glad I did and I am sure I will be referring back to this book again in the future.
September 14, 2022
Was Napoleon murdered by arsenic poisoning on St. Helena? Probably not, though a significant amount of it was later found in his body – arsenic was widely used during the nineteenth century to make a vivid green color, and was frequently found in common household items such as wallpaper. Was there a time when aluminum was more precious than gold, and why do Europeans add an extra ‘I’ to make it ‘aluminium’? The initial extraction required enormously expensive raw materials, but when a process was developed using electrolysis its price, as well as its haute couture appeal, dropped sharply. As for that extra syllable, the word was spelled various ways by the early users, but ‘ium’ is a frequent word ending for elements, so it became the accepted spelling in some places.
This book combines non-technical popular science writing with history and culture to examine some of the elements that make up the periodic table. Seven metals have been known since ancient times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury, since they can be found either in their pure forms or in compounds that were easily extracted by early tools. The Greek philosopher Empedocles, around 330 BCE, proposed the idea that all matter was made up of tiny, indivisible particles, but his was only one of a number of theories, and it was Plato’s division of all things into air, earth, fire, and water which caught on and was the dominant position for almost two thousand years. Eventually, during the golden age of alchemy, additional elements were discovered, such as antimony, zinc, bismuth, and antimony, but it took centuries before they were recognized as true elements.
Once additional elements began to be discovered, many scientists worked on finding a way to order them in a proper sequence. Dmitri Mendeleev’s moment of genius was to arrange the known elements by their weight (what we would now call the atomic number, or the number of protons in the nucleus) and the properties they had in common, and realize that some must be missing, so he left gaps in his table as placeholders for future discoveries. His idea was not universally accepted, but eventually new elements were discovered that slotted perfectly into the places where he had predicted they would appear. His first periodic table was rotated ninety degrees from the one we are familiar with, so that our rows and columns were reversed, and when the first noble gases were discovered he found it hard to accept that an entire new section would need to be added to the table.
The process of finding new elements developed into a kind of a race, with London and Paris as the leading experimental centers, but with Sweden also making significant discoveries. No less than eight elements were discovered from a single mine near Stockholm, four of them given variants of Ytterby, the name of the town in which the mine was located: yttrium (Y), ytterbium (Yb), erbium (Er), and terbium (Tb). The other four were scandium (SC), named for Scandinavia; holim (Ho), for Stockholm; thulium for Thule, the ancient name for the vast undiscovered North (think Ultima Thule from Latin), and gadolinium (Gd), named after the chemist Johan Gadolin.
Along the way the author recounts his own childhood fascination with the elements, as he found, bought, or disassembled things to obtain raw materials, leading to his studying chemistry in college. He also enlisted friends and colleagues to attempt to recreate some of the early extraction processes which lead to the discovery of new elements, concluding that some of those alchemists were in fact outstanding experimental chemists. He also visited many of the sites where the discoveries were made and uses those locations to tell the reader about the lives and times of the people who added new elements to the periodic table. Along the way we learn about the history and commercial usefulness of things like plutonium, lead, iodine, tin, and cadmium.
The author tried unsuccessfully to obtain a sample of plutonium and relates an amusing story where he found something called homeopathic plutonium, but on looking into it realized that, like most homeopathic ‘treatments,’ it actually contains none of the actual ingredient. Instead, homeopathy is based on the premise that certain molecules retain the ‘memory’ of their having once been associated with something else, and if that sounds ridiculous,well, it is. In his 2013 book The Unpersuadables, Will Storr includes a discussion of homeopathic remedies:
Periodic Tales is interesting, and I learned a number of things about the elements around us. I even went outside one evening to stand under a street light to observe its orange sodium-vapor light, emitted at a wavelength of 589 nm. I have walked under countless street lights of course, but this was the first time I actually thought about them and understood why they have replaced the earlier white lights. It was moments like that which made this book worth reading, and after finishing it I checked out another Aldersey-Williams’s books, Anatomies, which also sounds interesting.
This book combines non-technical popular science writing with history and culture to examine some of the elements that make up the periodic table. Seven metals have been known since ancient times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury, since they can be found either in their pure forms or in compounds that were easily extracted by early tools. The Greek philosopher Empedocles, around 330 BCE, proposed the idea that all matter was made up of tiny, indivisible particles, but his was only one of a number of theories, and it was Plato’s division of all things into air, earth, fire, and water which caught on and was the dominant position for almost two thousand years. Eventually, during the golden age of alchemy, additional elements were discovered, such as antimony, zinc, bismuth, and antimony, but it took centuries before they were recognized as true elements.
Once additional elements began to be discovered, many scientists worked on finding a way to order them in a proper sequence. Dmitri Mendeleev’s moment of genius was to arrange the known elements by their weight (what we would now call the atomic number, or the number of protons in the nucleus) and the properties they had in common, and realize that some must be missing, so he left gaps in his table as placeholders for future discoveries. His idea was not universally accepted, but eventually new elements were discovered that slotted perfectly into the places where he had predicted they would appear. His first periodic table was rotated ninety degrees from the one we are familiar with, so that our rows and columns were reversed, and when the first noble gases were discovered he found it hard to accept that an entire new section would need to be added to the table.
The process of finding new elements developed into a kind of a race, with London and Paris as the leading experimental centers, but with Sweden also making significant discoveries. No less than eight elements were discovered from a single mine near Stockholm, four of them given variants of Ytterby, the name of the town in which the mine was located: yttrium (Y), ytterbium (Yb), erbium (Er), and terbium (Tb). The other four were scandium (SC), named for Scandinavia; holim (Ho), for Stockholm; thulium for Thule, the ancient name for the vast undiscovered North (think Ultima Thule from Latin), and gadolinium (Gd), named after the chemist Johan Gadolin.
Along the way the author recounts his own childhood fascination with the elements, as he found, bought, or disassembled things to obtain raw materials, leading to his studying chemistry in college. He also enlisted friends and colleagues to attempt to recreate some of the early extraction processes which lead to the discovery of new elements, concluding that some of those alchemists were in fact outstanding experimental chemists. He also visited many of the sites where the discoveries were made and uses those locations to tell the reader about the lives and times of the people who added new elements to the periodic table. Along the way we learn about the history and commercial usefulness of things like plutonium, lead, iodine, tin, and cadmium.
The author tried unsuccessfully to obtain a sample of plutonium and relates an amusing story where he found something called homeopathic plutonium, but on looking into it realized that, like most homeopathic ‘treatments,’ it actually contains none of the actual ingredient. Instead, homeopathy is based on the premise that certain molecules retain the ‘memory’ of their having once been associated with something else, and if that sounds ridiculous,well, it is. In his 2013 book The Unpersuadables, Will Storr includes a discussion of homeopathic remedies:
If you buy a standard ‘30C’ dose of any homepathic treatment, it means the active ingredient has been diluted thirty times, by a factor of 100. That might not sound like too much, until you realise that your chance of getting even one molecule of the original substance in your pill is one in a billion billion billion billion. In his influential book Bad Science, Skeptic superstar Dr Ben Goldacre explained that you would have to drink a sphere of water that stretches from the earth to the sun just to get one solitary, pointless molecule of it. (p. 129)
Periodic Tales is interesting, and I learned a number of things about the elements around us. I even went outside one evening to stand under a street light to observe its orange sodium-vapor light, emitted at a wavelength of 589 nm. I have walked under countless street lights of course, but this was the first time I actually thought about them and understood why they have replaced the earlier white lights. It was moments like that which made this book worth reading, and after finishing it I checked out another Aldersey-Williams’s books, Anatomies, which also sounds interesting.
February 4, 2015
An extremely enjoyable book. To date it’s the closest I’ve found to one of my absolute favorite childhood books, passed down to me, long since mislaid; the title and author of which I cannot remember. That book had a red cover. Inside there were the most marvelous stories of the discovery of (amongst others) the composition of air (Scheele, Cavandish, Lavoisier), the alkali-earth metals (Davy), and helium (Kirchoff & Bunsen) in our Sun.
Mr Aldersey-Williams’ select bibliography now strongly and helpfully points me in the direction of I Nechaev’s 1942 book “Chemical Elements” (or rather of the translation from the Russian), as being my long-lost book.
‘Periodic Tales’ adopts Nechaev’s central thesis; to describe the sheer human and technological excitement of the discovery of the chemical elements. Unsurprisingly, there is considerably more to say in 2011 than in 1942; and not only about the fleeting fascinating existences of the man-made transuranic elements; where physicists have gracelessly elbowed the chemists out of the party.
Mr Aldersey-Williams’ writes for an adult, or interested teenager, audience, whereas I was reading Nechaev whilst still in primary (age 6-11) education. ‘Periodic Tales’ is wider, deeper, and longer; dipping into literature, mining, cookery, war, oceanography, classical history, Christianity, art, materials science, architecture …. That is by no means a comprehensive list.
I was aware of reading this book in a slightly detached manner, probably because much of the fact contained was not new to me. After I graduated in analytical chemistry I found rewarding work as a research scientist. Within the pages of this book I experienced the very same interest, excitement, and knowledge which first sparked my interest in chemistry (and associated sciences) all those years ago.
Therein too, lay my only disappointment. A very serious disappointment. Why, oh why have the illustrations been printed in low resolution black and white; and within the text too. OK, I do know why. It’s considerably cheaper to do that in preference to bound-in high resolution black and white images on high quality gloss paper. But by choosing to make such false economies the publisher has not only grave insulted the author’s fruitful work, but also every reader of this book. So 4 stars, not 5. With quality illustrations I would have bought a copy of this book; instead I borrowed a copy from my local public library.
Returning to the author’s wonderful text; this is a book to read and savor at leisure, not in haste. I usually hate over-frequent picking up, reading, and putting a book down, but I think ‘Periodic Tales’ actually benefits from periodic pauses, so as to enable the brain to fully enjoy thinking through what has just been read, together with associated connections and ramifications. Like a box of good chocolates, this book is definitely best savored and long-lingered over.
Just keep the ‘phone number of a good independent travel agent to hand. I’d never before thought of ‘Element’ tourism (see pg 378 on) … but after nowt but a modicum of thought, I can clearly see the appeal.
Mr Aldersey-Williams’ select bibliography now strongly and helpfully points me in the direction of I Nechaev’s 1942 book “Chemical Elements” (or rather of the translation from the Russian), as being my long-lost book.
‘Periodic Tales’ adopts Nechaev’s central thesis; to describe the sheer human and technological excitement of the discovery of the chemical elements. Unsurprisingly, there is considerably more to say in 2011 than in 1942; and not only about the fleeting fascinating existences of the man-made transuranic elements; where physicists have gracelessly elbowed the chemists out of the party.
Mr Aldersey-Williams’ writes for an adult, or interested teenager, audience, whereas I was reading Nechaev whilst still in primary (age 6-11) education. ‘Periodic Tales’ is wider, deeper, and longer; dipping into literature, mining, cookery, war, oceanography, classical history, Christianity, art, materials science, architecture …. That is by no means a comprehensive list.
I was aware of reading this book in a slightly detached manner, probably because much of the fact contained was not new to me. After I graduated in analytical chemistry I found rewarding work as a research scientist. Within the pages of this book I experienced the very same interest, excitement, and knowledge which first sparked my interest in chemistry (and associated sciences) all those years ago.
Therein too, lay my only disappointment. A very serious disappointment. Why, oh why have the illustrations been printed in low resolution black and white; and within the text too. OK, I do know why. It’s considerably cheaper to do that in preference to bound-in high resolution black and white images on high quality gloss paper. But by choosing to make such false economies the publisher has not only grave insulted the author’s fruitful work, but also every reader of this book. So 4 stars, not 5. With quality illustrations I would have bought a copy of this book; instead I borrowed a copy from my local public library.
Returning to the author’s wonderful text; this is a book to read and savor at leisure, not in haste. I usually hate over-frequent picking up, reading, and putting a book down, but I think ‘Periodic Tales’ actually benefits from periodic pauses, so as to enable the brain to fully enjoy thinking through what has just been read, together with associated connections and ramifications. Like a box of good chocolates, this book is definitely best savored and long-lingered over.
Just keep the ‘phone number of a good independent travel agent to hand. I’d never before thought of ‘Element’ tourism (see pg 378 on) … but after nowt but a modicum of thought, I can clearly see the appeal.
March 22, 2012
A disappointment. I picked this up thinking it might be weirdly informative and entertaining, like Bill Bryson's wonderfully entertaining science history "A Short History of Nearly Everything." But in the end I found almost all the anecdotes lifeless and pointless. Ultimately I gave up and put it back on the shelf about two-thirds through.
June 26, 2017
I should have taken "cultural history" more literally. This was not a science book, or even much of a science history book, and I came away feeling like I hadn't learned anything inspiring.. However, if you're more interested in how people have felt about precious and useful metals, without the details of physical science, it's a well written book.
August 27, 2016
Hugh Aldersey-Williams's Periodic Tales tells the story of the cultural history of the elements separated in five topics, the subjects of the book which are: power, the richness of the element or how valuable it is; fire, the changes of compounds when they react with other compounds like water; craft, the way people can manipulate the elements; beauty, the appearance of an element and how elements color our world, and earth, how an element affected a certain place or how the place affected an element. The book is set in from way back earlier than 1600 B.C.E. to 2011, when the book was published, at no particular place, but mostly in Europe, where many pure elements were discovered and where several elements were synthesized, because multiple scientists from different countries contributed in the world of science. Telling many stories about the elements, including his own, Aldersey-Williams researches information about the elements, conducts a few of his own experiments, and presents us many elements' histories. He speaks about the history of the elements and his past related to the them, interesting stories about elements that we use today like gold, silver, and mercury, which was used in movies for a certain special effect.
A very memorable event for me was a short section called "Pee is for Phosphorus." After telling us a story of how a scientist used fifty liters of urine for an experiment to see if phosphorus is in our urine, Aldersey-Williams conducted a similar experiment with his old teacher, but with less than fifty liters for a quicker completion rate. He followed the same procedure with some modifications but can't seem to extract the phosphorus out. He then theorizes that phosphorus was extracted, but in very small amounts. This was memorable because of the experiment and the weird title of the section.
Ultimately, the story of the history of the elements is a story of scientists, like Marie Curie, discovering new elements, updating Mendeleev's period table to the periodic table we know today, experimenting with elements to learn new things, and manipulating elements for our personal gains, like using arsenic either for medication or assassination. It all adds up to a tale of cultural history, a subject that our generation wouldn't be very interested in, but it does educates readers of the usefulness of everyday elements or elements we used to use in the past. Periodic Tales tells that story very descriptively, reminding us how often we take advantage of our everyday objects, and how little we know about them, like how do they work, who invented them, or what they are made of.
I learned a lot of things thanks to this book. It is practically a science book for college students. I learned what explodes when reacted with water, what makes our streetlights glow, what makes an object a certain color, and what possibly killed Napoleon (undetermined if it was the actual cause of death). Also, I learned some chemistry terms. This book made me change what I read because I really want to read interesting facts now, either from the internet or from a book. I need to expand my horizon of what I read because someday, the information I gained could help me later in the future.
Unfortunately, this book isn't one of those books that's like an emotional roller coaster ride. This book is somewhat monotone, but I felt amazed, confused, and bored while reading this. Of course, I had "Whoa, really?" moments when I read something very interesting, but I also had "Huh?" and "Zzz" moments because of the uninteresting facts or the complicated chemistry terms that I don't understand. Even though I had confused and bored moments, I enjoyed reading about a quarter to half of the book, but the rest gave me a headache like the after-effect of a sugar rush.
Periodic Tales is a rather lengthy book that talks so much about the elements. This book has too much information for an average person, especially someone who doesn't understand chemistry that well. Generally, I would not recommend this book because it has so many facts, confusing segments, and requires some knowledge of chemistry. Although some of the information was interesting, most of the other information felt boring to me. I would recommend this book to people who wants to grow up to be some type of scientist, people who's great in science, or people who really want to learn more about the elements.
A very memorable event for me was a short section called "Pee is for Phosphorus." After telling us a story of how a scientist used fifty liters of urine for an experiment to see if phosphorus is in our urine, Aldersey-Williams conducted a similar experiment with his old teacher, but with less than fifty liters for a quicker completion rate. He followed the same procedure with some modifications but can't seem to extract the phosphorus out. He then theorizes that phosphorus was extracted, but in very small amounts. This was memorable because of the experiment and the weird title of the section.
Ultimately, the story of the history of the elements is a story of scientists, like Marie Curie, discovering new elements, updating Mendeleev's period table to the periodic table we know today, experimenting with elements to learn new things, and manipulating elements for our personal gains, like using arsenic either for medication or assassination. It all adds up to a tale of cultural history, a subject that our generation wouldn't be very interested in, but it does educates readers of the usefulness of everyday elements or elements we used to use in the past. Periodic Tales tells that story very descriptively, reminding us how often we take advantage of our everyday objects, and how little we know about them, like how do they work, who invented them, or what they are made of.
I learned a lot of things thanks to this book. It is practically a science book for college students. I learned what explodes when reacted with water, what makes our streetlights glow, what makes an object a certain color, and what possibly killed Napoleon (undetermined if it was the actual cause of death). Also, I learned some chemistry terms. This book made me change what I read because I really want to read interesting facts now, either from the internet or from a book. I need to expand my horizon of what I read because someday, the information I gained could help me later in the future.
Unfortunately, this book isn't one of those books that's like an emotional roller coaster ride. This book is somewhat monotone, but I felt amazed, confused, and bored while reading this. Of course, I had "Whoa, really?" moments when I read something very interesting, but I also had "Huh?" and "Zzz" moments because of the uninteresting facts or the complicated chemistry terms that I don't understand. Even though I had confused and bored moments, I enjoyed reading about a quarter to half of the book, but the rest gave me a headache like the after-effect of a sugar rush.
Periodic Tales is a rather lengthy book that talks so much about the elements. This book has too much information for an average person, especially someone who doesn't understand chemistry that well. Generally, I would not recommend this book because it has so many facts, confusing segments, and requires some knowledge of chemistry. Although some of the information was interesting, most of the other information felt boring to me. I would recommend this book to people who wants to grow up to be some type of scientist, people who's great in science, or people who really want to learn more about the elements.
May 27, 2016
Man, iespējams nepamatoti, ir šķitis, ka populārzinātniskās grāmatas latviski tiek izdotas daudz par maz. Un tādēļ man ir neviltota sajūsma ieraugot grāmatu veikalu plauktos kādu zinātnei veltītu grāmatu latviski. Ieraugot šo grāmatu, man uzreiz radās vēlmi to izlasīt. Pirmkārt tādēļ, ka tā bija latviešu valodā un otrkārt, viņa man labu laiku stāv izlasāmo sarakstā.
Grāmatas pamatā ir ķīmisko elementu periodiskā tabula. Autors lasītājam pavēsta zināmu un ne tik zināmo elementu vēsturi. Savulaik jau cilvēki pazina tikai dažus elementus -zeltu, dzelzi, alvu, sēru, dzīvsudrabu, varu. Pārējie elementi bija pazīstami tikai savienojumu veidā. Ķīmijas pirmsākumi noteikti meklējami alķīmijā, cilvēku centienos jebkuru vielu pārvērst zeltā. Katra jauna elementa atklāšana radīja pavērsienu cilvēces attīstības vēsturē. Mākslinieki meklēja veidus, kā šo novitāti iekļaut savos darbos, jaunie elementi kļuva par modes simboliem un beigu beigās par sacensību elementu, lai noteiktu, kura sabiedriskā iekārta ir pārāka – komunisms vai kapitālisms. Dažādas ražošanas nozares savukārt iekļāva jaunos elementus savos ražojumos. Nekas nedod skaistāku zaļo krāsu par arsēnu, un hlors ir tīri labs pamats ķīmisko ieroču ražošanai.
Tā kā šāda tipa grāmatas es jau pāris esmu izlasījis, man grāmata lielāko devumu sniedza mākslas un kultūras vēstures kontekstā. Sākot ar to, ka alva reiz bija tāds pats stratēģiskais materiāls kā mūsdienās urāns. Ne visur zelts ir bijis vērtē, un reiz alumīnijs tika uzskatīts par jauno zeltu. Un tas ir tīri vai brīnums, ka cilvēkam indīgākie elementi rada tik spilgtas krāsas. Cinka un svina salīdzinājums namu apjumšanā un no kāda materiāla vislabāk izgatavot skulptūras. Daļu no stāstiem es jau biju dzirdējis – skābeklis un flogistons, Kirī pāris un viņu vājību pēc vakariņām vērot radioaktīvo elementu spīdumu, Mendeļejevs un viņa periodisko elementu tabula, Napoleons un arsēna krāsas tapetes , gallija karotes, tie ir tikai daži.
Autors pastāsta arī dažus savus eksperimentus, uz kuriem viņu ir pamudinājusi grāmatas sarakstīšana. Tad nu varam uzzināt kā no urīna iegūt fosforu vai no asinīm dzelzi.
Ja lasītājs neko no šī temata iepriekš nebūs daudz lasījis, tad šī grāmata viņam būs īsta zināšanu krātuve. Fakti un notikumi te tiek pasniegti interesantā un saistošā veidā. Te nav sausas zinātniskas valodas ar metālu kušanas temperatūrām un elektronu uzskaiti ārējās elektronu čaulās. Te viss tiek piesaistīts sadzīvei. Kas interesanti, daļu no metāliem, kuru nosaukumi šķiet eksotiski, patiesībā ikdienā mums ir visapkārt. Lasot šo grāmatu patiešām ir jāuzmanās, lai nekļūtu par elementu kolekcionāru. Tie ir cilvēki, kas cenšas iegūt savā īpašumā visus iespējamos elementus. Man šāda doma galvā iešaujas laiku pa laikam, bet pagaidām esmu tam turējies pretī.
Grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm. Iesaku izlasīt visiem, kurus interesē vēsture, ķīmija un ķīmiskie elementi. Jācer, ka reiz latviski tiks izdota arī grāmata „Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the UniverseThe Elements” by Theodore Gray uz kuru „Periodiskās fabulas” pāris reizes atsaucas.
Grāmatas pamatā ir ķīmisko elementu periodiskā tabula. Autors lasītājam pavēsta zināmu un ne tik zināmo elementu vēsturi. Savulaik jau cilvēki pazina tikai dažus elementus -zeltu, dzelzi, alvu, sēru, dzīvsudrabu, varu. Pārējie elementi bija pazīstami tikai savienojumu veidā. Ķīmijas pirmsākumi noteikti meklējami alķīmijā, cilvēku centienos jebkuru vielu pārvērst zeltā. Katra jauna elementa atklāšana radīja pavērsienu cilvēces attīstības vēsturē. Mākslinieki meklēja veidus, kā šo novitāti iekļaut savos darbos, jaunie elementi kļuva par modes simboliem un beigu beigās par sacensību elementu, lai noteiktu, kura sabiedriskā iekārta ir pārāka – komunisms vai kapitālisms. Dažādas ražošanas nozares savukārt iekļāva jaunos elementus savos ražojumos. Nekas nedod skaistāku zaļo krāsu par arsēnu, un hlors ir tīri labs pamats ķīmisko ieroču ražošanai.
Tā kā šāda tipa grāmatas es jau pāris esmu izlasījis, man grāmata lielāko devumu sniedza mākslas un kultūras vēstures kontekstā. Sākot ar to, ka alva reiz bija tāds pats stratēģiskais materiāls kā mūsdienās urāns. Ne visur zelts ir bijis vērtē, un reiz alumīnijs tika uzskatīts par jauno zeltu. Un tas ir tīri vai brīnums, ka cilvēkam indīgākie elementi rada tik spilgtas krāsas. Cinka un svina salīdzinājums namu apjumšanā un no kāda materiāla vislabāk izgatavot skulptūras. Daļu no stāstiem es jau biju dzirdējis – skābeklis un flogistons, Kirī pāris un viņu vājību pēc vakariņām vērot radioaktīvo elementu spīdumu, Mendeļejevs un viņa periodisko elementu tabula, Napoleons un arsēna krāsas tapetes , gallija karotes, tie ir tikai daži.
Autors pastāsta arī dažus savus eksperimentus, uz kuriem viņu ir pamudinājusi grāmatas sarakstīšana. Tad nu varam uzzināt kā no urīna iegūt fosforu vai no asinīm dzelzi.
Ja lasītājs neko no šī temata iepriekš nebūs daudz lasījis, tad šī grāmata viņam būs īsta zināšanu krātuve. Fakti un notikumi te tiek pasniegti interesantā un saistošā veidā. Te nav sausas zinātniskas valodas ar metālu kušanas temperatūrām un elektronu uzskaiti ārējās elektronu čaulās. Te viss tiek piesaistīts sadzīvei. Kas interesanti, daļu no metāliem, kuru nosaukumi šķiet eksotiski, patiesībā ikdienā mums ir visapkārt. Lasot šo grāmatu patiešām ir jāuzmanās, lai nekļūtu par elementu kolekcionāru. Tie ir cilvēki, kas cenšas iegūt savā īpašumā visus iespējamos elementus. Man šāda doma galvā iešaujas laiku pa laikam, bet pagaidām esmu tam turējies pretī.
Grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm. Iesaku izlasīt visiem, kurus interesē vēsture, ķīmija un ķīmiskie elementi. Jācer, ka reiz latviski tiks izdota arī grāmata „Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the UniverseThe Elements” by Theodore Gray uz kuru „Periodiskās fabulas” pāris reizes atsaucas.
April 24, 2023
"My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects we treasure and under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives arises ultimately from each element’s universal and unvarying properties. It is through this cultural life rather than through experimental encounter in a laboratory that we really come to know the elements individually, and it is a cause for sadness that most chemistry teaching does so little to acknowledge this rich existence." (No page reference: 81% Kindle)
I can't post a review of "Periodic tales: ..." that improves upon this paragraph. I will add that it simply reinforces my firm belief that chemistry IS life (sorry, biologists: you only study carbon-based forms). All of life begins at the level of individual atoms of an individual element. The combinations of elements into molecules, then compounds, and then possibly into living organisms is endlessly variable and oh, so fascinating. I give the book a solid three stars, not more, b/c parts of it really bogged down for me. I guess I'm not that big a modern art or architecture enthusiast to appreciate those anecdotes.
I can't post a review of "Periodic tales: ..." that improves upon this paragraph. I will add that it simply reinforces my firm belief that chemistry IS life (sorry, biologists: you only study carbon-based forms). All of life begins at the level of individual atoms of an individual element. The combinations of elements into molecules, then compounds, and then possibly into living organisms is endlessly variable and oh, so fascinating. I give the book a solid three stars, not more, b/c parts of it really bogged down for me. I guess I'm not that big a modern art or architecture enthusiast to appreciate those anecdotes.
July 22, 2021
This should be in my did-not-finish pile as I gave up three quarters of the way through but I read 300 pages of this thing so it's going on my list. It's a journey through the chemical elements, which ought to be interesting and in places often is - did you know, for example, that there is a rare earth metal called europium and it's used as the dye in euro notes? Neon was named by its discoverer's 13-year-old son? Antimony was once used as eyeliner and they used to make crockery out of uranium dioxide? I also like the author's quest to make chemical elements at home and he even has a go at synthesising phosphorous out of urine in his garage, which is amazing. However! the book is supposed to be about, not the chemistry of the elements, but their cultural significance, whatever that is, which is very ambitious of course and then... kind of hubristic? One person can't assess the cultural significance of neon lights, the treasure of the Incas, water fluoridation and the work of Agatha Christie among many, many other things, and it's sort of ridiculous to try. By the time he's asking questions like, what *gender* is titanium, I gave up.
May 13, 2023
It’s strange to read the other reviews on this book - because they seem to vary so much on the level of knowledge required to enjoy this read. While some reviewers complain that it’s too science heavy for the lay person, many others complain it’s not quite scientific enough. I’m always interested in learning about any subject, even ones that I have no specialty in.
However, I suppose I’m a bit different than many readers in the sense that while I’m certainly no expert in the field of chemistry, I do seem to possess more knowledge and curiosity for this science than the average person (attributable to a chemist ex of mine, who would therefore speak about organic chemistry to me often in extensive detail).
Random relationship tip here: it’s always good to date intelligent people, and even better when you take the opportunity to learn things from them you otherwise wouldn’t have known. That way, if/when things end, you can say you learned a great deal from your experience in more ways than one, lol.
I tend to agree with the people who say that you really don’t have to know a great deal about chemistry to understand and enjoy the little facts throughout this book. However, the style of writing really is quite scattered and much less orderly than one would expect from a book of this nature. It just seems that it would be simple enough to arrange the topics in a more orderly fashion, given that the periodic table is the literal blueprint for easy organization.
The main message of the book is that we are one with the elements, literally (as in the makeup of objects we hold dear) as well as figuratively (as in humanity’s art, literature, language, history, geography, etc.). I believe the author does provide unique tidbits for each and every element on the table - mostly in regard to the year and location they were discovered, as well as the means of discovery and the scientist whose discovery they are attributed to.
It was often quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed the sections on phosphorus in pyrotechnics and fluorine in so much of the world’s drinking water (especially the author’s jab at America’s broken health care system: ”Well over half of Americans drink fluoridated water today - as near to free universal health care as that country comes, perhaps.” Sad but true).
Also interesting were the seemingly universal reactions to certain elements - disgust at the “yellow vomit of light” in sodium (mostly in street lamps), respect for the “purity” of silver, awe at the “immortality” of gold, and so on. I also liked the historical examples of thallium and arsenic securing their place in the world as dangerous poisons used by stealthy murderers.
When it wasn’t interesting though, it could be downright boring. And as I mentioned earlier, the writing could be quite scattered - one moment speaking about projects the author attempted to undertake from home using these elements, to the next moment citing their usage in Shakespearen plays, then veering off into long diatribes about their usage in historical paintings.
I don’t regret having read it, but I also don’t think I’d want to read anymore of it. I’d probably only recommend it to readers that are extremely interested in knowing a variety of interesting facts - yet not overly interesting nor overly scientific. If that makes sense, lol. My review is probably rather akin to the author’s writing style - a bit all over the place. 😆
However, I suppose I’m a bit different than many readers in the sense that while I’m certainly no expert in the field of chemistry, I do seem to possess more knowledge and curiosity for this science than the average person (attributable to a chemist ex of mine, who would therefore speak about organic chemistry to me often in extensive detail).
Random relationship tip here: it’s always good to date intelligent people, and even better when you take the opportunity to learn things from them you otherwise wouldn’t have known. That way, if/when things end, you can say you learned a great deal from your experience in more ways than one, lol.
I tend to agree with the people who say that you really don’t have to know a great deal about chemistry to understand and enjoy the little facts throughout this book. However, the style of writing really is quite scattered and much less orderly than one would expect from a book of this nature. It just seems that it would be simple enough to arrange the topics in a more orderly fashion, given that the periodic table is the literal blueprint for easy organization.
The main message of the book is that we are one with the elements, literally (as in the makeup of objects we hold dear) as well as figuratively (as in humanity’s art, literature, language, history, geography, etc.). I believe the author does provide unique tidbits for each and every element on the table - mostly in regard to the year and location they were discovered, as well as the means of discovery and the scientist whose discovery they are attributed to.
It was often quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed the sections on phosphorus in pyrotechnics and fluorine in so much of the world’s drinking water (especially the author’s jab at America’s broken health care system: ”Well over half of Americans drink fluoridated water today - as near to free universal health care as that country comes, perhaps.” Sad but true).
Also interesting were the seemingly universal reactions to certain elements - disgust at the “yellow vomit of light” in sodium (mostly in street lamps), respect for the “purity” of silver, awe at the “immortality” of gold, and so on. I also liked the historical examples of thallium and arsenic securing their place in the world as dangerous poisons used by stealthy murderers.
When it wasn’t interesting though, it could be downright boring. And as I mentioned earlier, the writing could be quite scattered - one moment speaking about projects the author attempted to undertake from home using these elements, to the next moment citing their usage in Shakespearen plays, then veering off into long diatribes about their usage in historical paintings.
I don’t regret having read it, but I also don’t think I’d want to read anymore of it. I’d probably only recommend it to readers that are extremely interested in knowing a variety of interesting facts - yet not overly interesting nor overly scientific. If that makes sense, lol. My review is probably rather akin to the author’s writing style - a bit all over the place. 😆
April 26, 2020
This is one of those books that's hard to put under any specific genre, but something you pick up looking how fun and ingenious the premise is. Who would not want to re-classify elements! Like people maintaining travel maps and collecting fridge magnets to commemorate trips, the idea for the book stems from the author's urge to collect samples of elements (using the periodic table as a map) and as he goes through the journey, aim to "understand" each element looking at its discovery and what role and position they have acquired in the society.
The idea is definitely interesting - Mendeleev's periodic table classifies elements based on their physical and chemical properties. Whilst this may suffice for more technical use, these elements interact and are construed in our common life very differently. And thus, is there any merit in studying elements together that have similar values (E.g. clubbing "value" metals such as gold, silver, platinum etc. together). The brilliance of the book, however, lies in the author's ability to showcase our anthropomorphism with these elements. For instance, iron for strength, Arsenic as an adjective for anything poisonous, platinum for anything rare and precious (think platinum jubilee, platinum membership etc.) and so on. The author talks about how these elements have evolved with the society and our needs (e.g. Aluminium was considered a precious and power metal based on Napolean's use of it, but with time has lowered in perceived value). Delving into these elements also allows the author to explore interesting correlations around the time and geography of these elements being discovered. All in all, the author does a good job of bringing to life these fundamental and ubiquitous, yet often ignored elements.
The book does use a free-flowing style of writing which at times leaves the reader with the burden of deciphering the narrative thread, thus making it not-so-pleasant from a readability standpoint. Nonetheless, a recommended read for offering a refreshing perspective.
The idea is definitely interesting - Mendeleev's periodic table classifies elements based on their physical and chemical properties. Whilst this may suffice for more technical use, these elements interact and are construed in our common life very differently. And thus, is there any merit in studying elements together that have similar values (E.g. clubbing "value" metals such as gold, silver, platinum etc. together). The brilliance of the book, however, lies in the author's ability to showcase our anthropomorphism with these elements. For instance, iron for strength, Arsenic as an adjective for anything poisonous, platinum for anything rare and precious (think platinum jubilee, platinum membership etc.) and so on. The author talks about how these elements have evolved with the society and our needs (e.g. Aluminium was considered a precious and power metal based on Napolean's use of it, but with time has lowered in perceived value). Delving into these elements also allows the author to explore interesting correlations around the time and geography of these elements being discovered. All in all, the author does a good job of bringing to life these fundamental and ubiquitous, yet often ignored elements.
The book does use a free-flowing style of writing which at times leaves the reader with the burden of deciphering the narrative thread, thus making it not-so-pleasant from a readability standpoint. Nonetheless, a recommended read for offering a refreshing perspective.
May 27, 2016
In a past review I confessed that I was for the most part scientifically illiterate. I'm not sure how far this book went in curing that but I do know a bit more about the periodic table than I used to. I can name the elements designated as halogens ,fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine as well as a few of the noble gases ,xenon, radon, and krypton. I'm not sure if this really counts as scientific knowledge or just knowledge of scientific terms though.
While their chemical properties of the elements in the periodic table are important it is the cultural baggage these substances have accumulated that the author is most concerned with. This is particularly true when talking about the things we value and esteem. Gold and silver are not only objects of worth but symbols of it as well. Just ask the guy who gets the bronze medal. However there was a time when aluminum was so highly valued that the guests at Napoleon III's table were given cutlery made for it to eat with while the less favored were given silver or gold.
All in all a very enjoyable book my only complaint was that the author's storytelling is hit and miss at best. The books saving grace is that the author's enthusiasm for his material really shines through.
While their chemical properties of the elements in the periodic table are important it is the cultural baggage these substances have accumulated that the author is most concerned with. This is particularly true when talking about the things we value and esteem. Gold and silver are not only objects of worth but symbols of it as well. Just ask the guy who gets the bronze medal. However there was a time when aluminum was so highly valued that the guests at Napoleon III's table were given cutlery made for it to eat with while the less favored were given silver or gold.
All in all a very enjoyable book my only complaint was that the author's storytelling is hit and miss at best. The books saving grace is that the author's enthusiasm for his material really shines through.
January 1, 2015
This book sits on my science shelves but it should inhabit a shelf of its own, labelled Biographies of the Inanimate (a section for Borges imaginary Library of Babel?).
To quote the author: "My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects we treasure and under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives arises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying properties."
Aldersey-Williams reaches that aim in a well-written, easy-read, book of surprises that takes the reader from the trenches of WWI to the swimming baths, from the teacher's chalk to the dentist's chair, from limelight to Las Vegas and on many other adventures for which you don't need any previous knowledge of chemistry. Though you may find yourself tempted to acquire a poster of the Periodic Table to stick on your kitchen or bedroom wall!
A warning: reading Periodic Tales may turn you into an irritation to the other reader on the sofa with your interjections into the silence, "Listen to this..." "Did you know..." "I would never have thought...." :)
To quote the author: "My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects we treasure and under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives arises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying properties."
Aldersey-Williams reaches that aim in a well-written, easy-read, book of surprises that takes the reader from the trenches of WWI to the swimming baths, from the teacher's chalk to the dentist's chair, from limelight to Las Vegas and on many other adventures for which you don't need any previous knowledge of chemistry. Though you may find yourself tempted to acquire a poster of the Periodic Table to stick on your kitchen or bedroom wall!
A warning: reading Periodic Tales may turn you into an irritation to the other reader on the sofa with your interjections into the silence, "Listen to this..." "Did you know..." "I would never have thought...." :)
November 22, 2016
Very interesting. This book definitely tells a different story about the elements than what I, with a chemistry background, usually got. It assigned genders to a lot of the metals and talked about the colors and smells and sounds of the elements and the effect those things had on the way society viewed them before we could define them by their atomic structure. I learned a lot, not just that British people pronounce a lot of the elements weirdly, not just aluminum. Favorite fact: UPPU, a club that you could only join if there was enough Plutonium in your system for it to be detectable in your urine.
Favorite quote: "Civilization, it is immediately apparent, is simply organized resistance to oxidation...The gas brings life, and in doing so, brings death closer."
Favorite quote: "Civilization, it is immediately apparent, is simply organized resistance to oxidation...The gas brings life, and in doing so, brings death closer."
September 10, 2023
I found this book fascinating. It's more history than science but there are many books on chemistry you can read; I haven't seen any others covering the same ground as this.
September 5, 2017
Godibile e interessante
Con questo testo si comprende quanto tutto sia interconnesso: materia, luce, energia. In particolare, è singolare notare quanto gli elementi della tavola periodica, nei loro composti e nelle loro forme pure, abbiano inciso sui modi d'essere dell'uomo e nel suo linguaggio figurato. I vari elementi chimici hanno contribuito a creare una vasta gamma di colori, dai fuochi d'artificio ai prodotti di bellezza per il corpo, con le loro caratteristiche di tossicità e pericolosità nel corso della storia. Come i vari elementi chimici sono la chiave del progresso per capire il funzionamento dell'universo. Alla fine, questo testo è un gran bel viaggio, anche se occasionalmente l'autore è un po' troppo immodesto nel presumere di avere la chiave per la conoscenza finale della vita: scivoloni su aneddoti, leggerezze sulle armi e il modo con cui sono sviluppate, leggerezze sulla spiritualità (bollare la cabala come scempiaggine mi pare un po' eccessivo). Ma del resto l'autore è un chimico, che forse commette l'errore di scegliere come unica via per la verità quella che si trova nella tavola periodica degli elementi ed è convinto che nella sua collezione di elementi chimici puri da aggiungere a un barattolo per completarla, ci sia l'unica verità dell'universo. Nel complesso rimane comunque un buon libro, come non ne leggevo da tempo.
Con questo testo si comprende quanto tutto sia interconnesso: materia, luce, energia. In particolare, è singolare notare quanto gli elementi della tavola periodica, nei loro composti e nelle loro forme pure, abbiano inciso sui modi d'essere dell'uomo e nel suo linguaggio figurato. I vari elementi chimici hanno contribuito a creare una vasta gamma di colori, dai fuochi d'artificio ai prodotti di bellezza per il corpo, con le loro caratteristiche di tossicità e pericolosità nel corso della storia. Come i vari elementi chimici sono la chiave del progresso per capire il funzionamento dell'universo. Alla fine, questo testo è un gran bel viaggio, anche se occasionalmente l'autore è un po' troppo immodesto nel presumere di avere la chiave per la conoscenza finale della vita: scivoloni su aneddoti, leggerezze sulle armi e il modo con cui sono sviluppate, leggerezze sulla spiritualità (bollare la cabala come scempiaggine mi pare un po' eccessivo). Ma del resto l'autore è un chimico, che forse commette l'errore di scegliere come unica via per la verità quella che si trova nella tavola periodica degli elementi ed è convinto che nella sua collezione di elementi chimici puri da aggiungere a un barattolo per completarla, ci sia l'unica verità dell'universo. Nel complesso rimane comunque un buon libro, come non ne leggevo da tempo.
January 30, 2023
Kniha o chemii a vlastně skoro bez chemie? Tak to bych nečekala.
Chemie nepatřila zrovna k mým úplně oblíbeným předmětům.
Tato kniha ale přibližuje jednotlivé prvky periodické tabulky lidem. Nejdřív mi připadal trochu suchý styl psaní, ale když se autor ptal, jestli je titan ženského nebo mužského pohlaví, musela jsem uznat, že tak suché to zas není.
Každý prvek má svůj příběh, barvu, emoci, kterou v nás vyvolá. Bylo zajímavé se s tím seznámit.
Chemie nepatřila zrovna k mým úplně oblíbeným předmětům.
Tato kniha ale přibližuje jednotlivé prvky periodické tabulky lidem. Nejdřív mi připadal trochu suchý styl psaní, ale když se autor ptal, jestli je titan ženského nebo mužského pohlaví, musela jsem uznat, že tak suché to zas není.
Každý prvek má svůj příběh, barvu, emoci, kterou v nás vyvolá. Bylo zajímavé se s tím seznámit.
June 27, 2022
This is a tour through the periodic table focused on cultural trivia about each element. It ranges from the Book of Revelation to Agatha Christie, from warfare to public health, from architecture to linguistics. This is a book of breadth not depth which should appeal to any trivia buff.
August 25, 2015
Periodic tales is one of those books that grabs you by the throat and will not let you go. Full of extra-ordinary stories, co-incidences, twists and turns Hugh Aldersley-Williams meanders through the arcane history of the elements and in so doing encourages the reader to want to find out more and more. I have always been jointly fascinated by chemistry and the extra-ordinary people behind the knowledge we so take for granted and on which our civilisation hangs. Many of the people involved in the elements recent history are, of course, well known and celebrated for their work, Curie, Davy, Mendeleev are three that instantly spring to mind. But many others are unsung, unrecognised by the world at large and often forgotten even within the scientific community. Who now knows the story of the genius behind the discoveries at Ytterby or is able to name even 2 of the seven elements that were discovered there or even locate Ytterby on a map? Unlike an encyclopaedia or a chemistry textbook Periodic tales reads more like a mystery story and I found myself keen to keep reading and eager to follow Hugh's trail. It is hard to think of a topic or theme that is not touched on somewhere in this book but everything is handled with a deft lightness of touch and great literary skill. The history of the elements is intimately entwined with the history of humanity and in taking us to the trenches and the use of Chlorine as a weapon he keeps our eyes firmly fixed on the patriotic chemist, Haber, who proposed that the gas be released from ground based cylinders allowing wind to carry it over to the enemy lines. Hugh follows the Haber story through telling of the suicide of Haber's wife (also a chemist) in 1915, following the attacks, and of his own visit to Haber's son and daughters who retired to Bath of all places.
Hideous as this particular bit of history is Hugh dances his narrative along now showing the comic, now peeping into the ancient craft of sword making, now revealing the unsung hero. Any review of this book cannot begin to do it full justice. All I can say is Read it. You will not be disappointed and you will find that your view of the world has expanded exponentially.
Hideous as this particular bit of history is Hugh dances his narrative along now showing the comic, now peeping into the ancient craft of sword making, now revealing the unsung hero. Any review of this book cannot begin to do it full justice. All I can say is Read it. You will not be disappointed and you will find that your view of the world has expanded exponentially.
March 8, 2011
If you enjoyed The Disappearing Spoon as much as I did, than this book is a no-brainer must-read.
I remember while taking a chemistry class not too long ago that though the nitty gritty details were sometimes daunting, boring, or downright frustrating, it was always the stories about the elements or their discoverers that helped put everything in context, making it a richer learning experience. Seeing as how the history behind the elements wasn't the point of taking the chemistry class I sought out books that would help fill the gap.
Now almost 2 years later there are two books that fit the bill (not to say that this book and this book are lacking anything, but the dictionary-style formats aren't quite as organic in presenting the information as are 'Spoon' and 'Tales').
Both books are similar in style and cover the same elements (there are only a finite amount of them!) but do so in completely different and interesting ways. It might be due to the time between reading both books but I didn't notice any overlap in information or anecdotes. If something was familiar it was more like getting the other side of the story than a repeat of the same details.
I recommend 'Tales' (and 'Spoon') to anyone interested in science, science history, or chemistry. I think reading one or both of these books will help demystify the elements and make learning chemistry that much easier.
I remember while taking a chemistry class not too long ago that though the nitty gritty details were sometimes daunting, boring, or downright frustrating, it was always the stories about the elements or their discoverers that helped put everything in context, making it a richer learning experience. Seeing as how the history behind the elements wasn't the point of taking the chemistry class I sought out books that would help fill the gap.
Now almost 2 years later there are two books that fit the bill (not to say that this book and this book are lacking anything, but the dictionary-style formats aren't quite as organic in presenting the information as are 'Spoon' and 'Tales').
Both books are similar in style and cover the same elements (there are only a finite amount of them!) but do so in completely different and interesting ways. It might be due to the time between reading both books but I didn't notice any overlap in information or anecdotes. If something was familiar it was more like getting the other side of the story than a repeat of the same details.
I recommend 'Tales' (and 'Spoon') to anyone interested in science, science history, or chemistry. I think reading one or both of these books will help demystify the elements and make learning chemistry that much easier.
March 24, 2012
It must be tough to write a book on science. Make it too simplistic and it may have wider appeal but the people most likely to buy it will think it stinks. Go gung-ho into the subject and in this case chemists will love it while it cures the insomnia of the general public. Ultimately, this book is a bit of both.
I thought the background on elements could have been done better. The author leaves out some of the basics to sail off on tangents that aren't nearly as interesting. For instance with zinc, he never mentions the most common usage as plating for steel but goes on for pages trying to figure out why bars in France were originally called zincs. There was also too much time spent on oddball references, namely the use of certain elements in art and literature.
That the author is way into his topic is proved by the line "...we should all have a little piece of spent uranium to keep in the garden as a momento of our reliance upon it for our energy." I'd rather opt for a gnome.
And with all the colorful elements on the planet, all the tiny illustrations are in black and white.
I liked it in certain respects, but not in others.
I thought the background on elements could have been done better. The author leaves out some of the basics to sail off on tangents that aren't nearly as interesting. For instance with zinc, he never mentions the most common usage as plating for steel but goes on for pages trying to figure out why bars in France were originally called zincs. There was also too much time spent on oddball references, namely the use of certain elements in art and literature.
That the author is way into his topic is proved by the line "...we should all have a little piece of spent uranium to keep in the garden as a momento of our reliance upon it for our energy." I'd rather opt for a gnome.
And with all the colorful elements on the planet, all the tiny illustrations are in black and white.
I liked it in certain respects, but not in others.
June 29, 2022
After many years away from taking multiple chemistry classes in high school, college and dental school, I found this book an enjoyable return to being a student again. The author takes you through an historical journey of the discovery of the natural and man made chemical elements. Many details of the elements discovery, uses, and other trivia are revealed in this book.The author's journey through Mendeleev's periodic table gave me a new appreciation of Mendeleev's organizational genius of grouping related elements and creating the table before most of the elements had been discovered . The new man made elements continue to enlarge the periodic table but still fit into the original table's format.
Also, some of the names I saw engraved on the chemistry building in college now have new meaning and were discussed in the book. One name for example was Berzelius who helped chemistry by determining the method to calculate atomic weights and developed the modern chemical symbols for the elements used in chemical equations.
If you enjoy chemistry, I think you'll enjoy this book.
Also, some of the names I saw engraved on the chemistry building in college now have new meaning and were discussed in the book. One name for example was Berzelius who helped chemistry by determining the method to calculate atomic weights and developed the modern chemical symbols for the elements used in chemical equations.
If you enjoy chemistry, I think you'll enjoy this book.
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