The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements [Hardcover]

FromNew York Timesbestselling 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 Tableis 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 Spoonmasterfully 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.

Sam Keanis theNew York Timesbestselling author of Caesar's Last Breath,The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons,The Disappearing Spoon, andThe Violinist's Thumb, all of which were also named Amazon top science books of the year.

The Disappearing Spoonwas a runner-up for the Royal Society of London's book of the year for 2010, andThe Violinist's ThumbandThe Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeonswere 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 theBest American Nature and Science Writing, theNew Yorker, theAtlantic, theNew York Times Magazine,Psychology Today,Slate,Mental Floss, and other publications, and he has been featured on NPR's Radiolab, All Things Consl“˜