How the World Works: The Periodic Table: From Hydrogen to Oganesson

by Anne Rooney

Identifying the fundamental chemical building blocks of nature, the periodic table of elements was first proposed by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. This introduction explores the history of scientific discovery that led to this codification and explains how it works and has been refined since.

Genres: Chemistry, Science, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2019

About the author

Anne Rooney gained a degree and then a PhD in medieval literature from Trinity College, Cambridge. After a period of teaching medieval English and French literature at the universities of Cambridge and York, she left to pursue a career as a freelance writer. She has written many books for adults and children on a variety of subjects, including literature and history. She lives in Cambridge and is Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Essex.

Reviews

[Mary Harrison]

A terrific book for the layperson. An interesting and informative book ... and very encouraging. I understood more than I expected to and will read further to try to grasp what I didn't understand.

[Franz]

This, I think, is an excellent introduction into chemistry as it relates to the elements. It reads well, is logically organized and as current as a book aimed at a general audience can get. A keeper for future reference.

[Gavin]

This book is weirdly captivating in a way you would never expect a book about the period table to be