From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, finance, mythology, the arts, medicine, and more, as told by the Periodic Table.

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?

The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery -- from the Big Bang through the end of time.

Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.

Author: Sam Kean
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 07/12/2010
Pages: 400
Weight: 1.34lbs
Size: 9.56h x 6.58w x 1.39d
ISBN: 9780316051644

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 10
Point Value: 19
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 185983 / Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Per


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2010
Library Journal 05/01/2010 pg. 90
Publishers Weekly 05/10/2010 pg. 1
Booklist 07/01/2010 pg. 15
Entertainment Weekly 07/23/2010 pg. 86
Library Journal 10/01/2010 pg. 102
Choice 12/01/2010
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001

About the Author
Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of Caesar's Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Disappearing Spoon, and The Violinist's Thumb, all of which were also named Amazon top science books of the year.

The Disappearing Spoon was a runner-up for the Royal Society of London's book of the year for 2010, and The Violinist's Thumb and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons were nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2013 and 2015, as well as the AAAS/Subaru SB&F prize.

His work has appeared in the Best American Nature and Science Writing, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, Mental Floss, and other publications, and he has been featured on NPR's "Radiolab," "All Things Considered," and "Fresh Air."