Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Knopf (2001)
Description
Long before Oliver Sacks became a distinguished neurologist and bestselling writer, he was a small English boy fascinated by metals-also by chemical reactions (the louder and smellier the better), photography, squids and cuttlefish, H.G. Wells, and the periodic table. In this endlessly charming and eloquent memoir, the author chronicles his love affair with science and the magnificently odd and sometimes harrowing childhood in which that love affair unfolded. In Uncle Tungsten we meet Sacks' extraordinary family, from his surgeon mother, who introduces the fourteen-year-old Oliver to the art of human dissection, and his father, a family doctor who imbues in his son an early enthusiasm for housecalls, to his "Uncle Tungsten," whose factory produces tungsten-filament light bulbs. We follow the young Oliver as he is exiled at the age of six to a grim, sadistic boarding school to escape the London Blitz, and later watch as he sets about passionately reliving the exploits of his chemical heroes, in his own home laboratory. Uncle Tungsten is a crystalline view of a brilliant young mind springing to life, a story of growing up which is by turns elegiac, comic, and wistful, full of the electrifying joy of discovery.… (more)
Media reviews
Economist
Romantic chemistry sounds like a contradiction in terms, but the two words pair naturally in this book.
New York Times
When Mr. Sacks departs from the narrative of his childhood to serve up lengthy digressions on the finer points of rare earth metals or electromagnetic reactions, his writing can lapse into textbook lecturing, but even these dense, scientific passages are enlivened by his boyish wonder at the
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amazing logic and strangeness of the world. Show Less
Booklist
Thus this is both the story of a particular English boy's life just before, during, and after World War II and a maximally engaging, personalized overview of chemistry, from Robert Boyle to Madame Curie.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Pferdina
Sacks writes about his boyhood in 1940s London and also about the lives of the scientists that shaped his interest in chemistry and physics. Sketches on radioactivity, the discovery of the periodic law, metals, electricity, and atomic structure are included as well as stories about Humphrey Davy,
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Marie and Pierre Curie, and several others. My only complaint about this book is that it moves very slowly and all of the events in the author's life take place when he was very young (before 13 years of age, for the most part). Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
There's a "Radiolab" episode in which Oliver Sacks talks about his interest in samples of chemical elements; this is basically a longer and even more wonderful version of that, in which he ties in family history, personal memoir, and the history of chemistry (and a bit of physics too). A delight to
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read. Show Less
LibraryThing member dele2451
A funny tale of one inquisitive Jewish boy's adventurous--and often dangerous--experiments in the world of chemistry and the many mentors who inspired him on his journey. Informative, entertaining, and well-written...his passion for his topic resonates throughout the entire book. A definite
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recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member Osdolai
Oliver Sacks' first autobiography is a frustrating read. He uses every trick in the book to hide from the limelight and instead of a memoir delivers a very comprehensive History of Chemistry with a few personal anecdotes interjected far and between.
Sacks was a remarkable chronicler of the mind and
Lastly, Sacks literary style is severely lacking in the flow department. He frequently interrupts the narrative to walk us with excruciating detail through technical explanations of the chemical properties of an element or an experiment he conducted in his basement. Feels like his editor gave him a free pass to ramble at ease.
The bottom line is, this concave book has a more limited appeal than expected, given what we know of the author. Instead of reflections on his childhood, we are treated to a master lecture on chemistry and physics. His omissions tell us more about him than his narrative. Unless you have a particular penchant for the hard sciences, you may find yourself frustrated in this read.
Sacks was a remarkable chronicler of the mind and
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lived a very eventful childhood in a bygone era. In LP Hartley's apt turn of phrase, 'the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there'. We want to find out more about that country, but Sacks leaves us high and dry. What was it like to live in England through the war, with food rationed, and national mobilization underway? He mentions people and events in a detached way, almost as a historian, certainly not as a highly gifted child who was actually there growing up in those cataclysmic times. Lastly, Sacks literary style is severely lacking in the flow department. He frequently interrupts the narrative to walk us with excruciating detail through technical explanations of the chemical properties of an element or an experiment he conducted in his basement. Feels like his editor gave him a free pass to ramble at ease.
The bottom line is, this concave book has a more limited appeal than expected, given what we know of the author. Instead of reflections on his childhood, we are treated to a master lecture on chemistry and physics. His omissions tell us more about him than his narrative. Unless you have a particular penchant for the hard sciences, you may find yourself frustrated in this read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member snash
In some ways the book seemed schizophrenic in that it was a memoir but also a biography of a family, and a history of chemists and chemistry. The memoir was frightening, cruel at times. The family biography was enchanting. The history of chemists and chemistry was infused with boundless enthusiasm
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but would still be inaccessible to anyone with less that college chemistry. I have a chemistry degree so I quite enjoyed the book despite its divided focus. Show Less
LibraryThing member goluban
An amazing look into the mind of a child who would become a great scientist.
His early fascination with chemistry was based on his attraction to the physical properties of materials he saw as solid, permanent in contrast to the chaotic and unreliable social world of WWII.
This early interest was
It is a vivid example of the interplay of nature and nurture.
His early fascination with chemistry was based on his attraction to the physical properties of materials he saw as solid, permanent in contrast to the chaotic and unreliable social world of WWII.
This early interest was
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encouraged and nourished by a large nurturing family of equally extraordinary, intellectually curious people. It is a vivid example of the interplay of nature and nurture.
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LibraryThing member triptropic
A bit like being back in chemistry class. Sometimes fun, sometimes as dull as ditch water. Enough with the thalium already!
LibraryThing member mjmorrison1971
A childhood memoir & journey throught the history of Chemistry. For me, a very interesting read but how much of what he did as a child can we do now? - Not much
LibraryThing member xtien
Sacks' autobiography with a central role for chemistry, science in general, and two uncles who are running the family business: a factory for light bulbs (hence the title: "Uncle Tungsten"). Every kid deserves a youth in which nobody gets angry at you when you try to set the house on fire.
LibraryThing member TadAD
This is a memoir of the author's early boyhood when he was fascinated by chemistry. I was expecting the majority of the book to be about the many intelligent and probably interesting members of the Sacks' family, most notably his Uncle Dave (Uncle Tungsten). However, the personal glimpses were few
When told that Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen, that Mendeleev devised the periodic table, etc., instead of a quickening of interest, my response was continuously, "Yes, I know."
If you didn't take (or have largely forgotten) high school chemistry, and have some interest in science, then this book will provide you with a recounting of chemical thought from earliest times up through Niels Bohr's quantum theories about electrons. It's well-written and very accessible. If you do remember your high school chemistry, the book will probably disappoint a bit.
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and lacked much depth. Instead, this was primarily a quick recapitulation of the history of chemical thought. For this, I was just the wrong audience. When told that Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen, that Mendeleev devised the periodic table, etc., instead of a quickening of interest, my response was continuously, "Yes, I know."
If you didn't take (or have largely forgotten) high school chemistry, and have some interest in science, then this book will provide you with a recounting of chemical thought from earliest times up through Niels Bohr's quantum theories about electrons. It's well-written and very accessible. If you do remember your high school chemistry, the book will probably disappoint a bit.
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LibraryThing member LynnB
After reading this book, I'm still not sure if it was intended as a memoire, or as a brief history of chemistry. The author gives us glimpses of his family life, especially the role his mother and uncles played in encouraging his love of chemistry. He spends a lot more time talking about chemistry
I found the book rather sad at the end. All the love of chemistry that permeated Oliver Sacks' life was repressed when he reading adolescence as it was expected he would become a doctor. Which he did -- and where he has made a large difference to many lives. But what would have happened had he followed his heart?
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and scientific discoveries, which was less interesting to me.I found the book rather sad at the end. All the love of chemistry that permeated Oliver Sacks' life was repressed when he reading adolescence as it was expected he would become a doctor. Which he did -- and where he has made a large difference to many lives. But what would have happened had he followed his heart?
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LibraryThing member lovell
This is a book that holds the attention for its woonderful fresh insights into the world of chemistry, as well as a description of the author's family and life in an extended medical scientifically literate Jewish family in London during the war years. I give it to my year 11 chem students (a
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chapter at a time) as it has a beguiling introduction to the importance of chemistry in our lives. Show Less
LibraryThing member iayork
Memory is Precious: I loved reading this book for multiple reasons, but I will restrict myself to mentioning two. The first is that it is a well constructed story with excellent writing---a combination I cannot resist. The narrative moves at a pace to engage and captivate the reader without making
But there is more to the book that makes me give this an enthusiastic five stars. As a chemist I was delighted to read a book that gave insight into this space of history of the chemistry profession. The history is two-fold: first it is a history of childhood enthusiasm for science and second it is a history of chemistry in the middle of the 1900s. many a child is enthusiastic about something. For all those children who loved science but never had the means to explore this book will bring sadness at what they lost for not being given such freedom and support. But the book also brings joy at reading that someone, somewhere had the chance to be the brilliant child you always thought you were. Today we highly restrict certain chemicals and also have an emphasis on safety in working with all chemicals. Sacks presents a time period when chemistry and science in general was done with little concern for safety. Instead of glossing over things Sacks presents information and experiments without deluding the reading into thinking it was perfectly safe.
This book is an excellent exploration of multiple themes that are well worth thinking about. I challenge anyone to read it and not find something in it that doesn't provoke some thoughts about what you are doing now with what you are enthusiastic about or what you loved childhood and now have lost as an adult.
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the story just a rush to get to the next page. Writing that is thoughtful makes sure that the reader will savor and think about the events presented. This is worth a read merely to have the understanding of one more perspective presented well. But there is more to the book that makes me give this an enthusiastic five stars. As a chemist I was delighted to read a book that gave insight into this space of history of the chemistry profession. The history is two-fold: first it is a history of childhood enthusiasm for science and second it is a history of chemistry in the middle of the 1900s. many a child is enthusiastic about something. For all those children who loved science but never had the means to explore this book will bring sadness at what they lost for not being given such freedom and support. But the book also brings joy at reading that someone, somewhere had the chance to be the brilliant child you always thought you were. Today we highly restrict certain chemicals and also have an emphasis on safety in working with all chemicals. Sacks presents a time period when chemistry and science in general was done with little concern for safety. Instead of glossing over things Sacks presents information and experiments without deluding the reading into thinking it was perfectly safe.
This book is an excellent exploration of multiple themes that are well worth thinking about. I challenge anyone to read it and not find something in it that doesn't provoke some thoughts about what you are doing now with what you are enthusiastic about or what you loved childhood and now have lost as an adult.
Show Less
LibraryThing member gibbon
The book contains more about tungsten than it does about his uncle, and might have been better if the proportions had been reversed. Anyone without the elements of a scientific education may find it hard and consequently boring to follow, being structured as it is round the history of chemistry and
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the discovery and classification of the elements. It is interesting to compare it with the anecdotes of Richard Feynman concerning his upbringing. Feynman was older and from a less privileged family, so he felt the impact of the Great Depression more as he was growing up. But it is clear that both men felt the same compulsive need to discover for themselves how things worked, and the same joy when they realised what they had understood - in Sacks' case, with the help of his talented uncles, in Feynman's, by talks with his father, and for both of them, by the freedom to experiment. It was unfortunate for Sacks that his boarding schools were a bad influence on him, and that his parents didn't realise it, being preoccupied with their own careers. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarkKeeffe
Really good insight into what t was like growing up in a large well-off Jewish family in London around the time of the second world war. His enthusiasm for chemistry and botany, and for learning in general, is contagious and delightful. His memory for detail and the influencing characters is
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amazing. Some of the chemical terms and descriptions re hard to understand which got a bit boring towards the end of the book. Also it seemed to end rather abruptly. But these small criticisms are dwarfed by an otherwise delightful read. Show Less
LibraryThing member msboot
I loved every single page of this beautiful, adventurous book.
LibraryThing member JNSelko
A perfectly marvelous memoir- my daughter ( a Chemical Engineer) has read it three times!
LibraryThing member lxydis
Wonderfully engaging memoir. Sacks’s conveys with deceptive simplicity and clarity the wonders of chemistry and the excitement (and the history of the last couple of centuries, no mean feat to do this so clearly and concisely!) of scientific discovery, as well as his joyous inquisitiveness as a
Typical of his generous, positive view is that even these sad times (like his brother’s eventual mental illness, and his parents’ unawareness of his own suffering at the horrible school and their inexplicably thoughtless, even insensitive, behavior, and his own anxieties and isolation) never sound regretful or self-centeredly whiny, though he describes them forthrightly. He’s generous and direct and loving in his description of his passions, as well as his depiction of his enormously engaging, supportive and remarkable family. It’s refreshing to read a personal account that is not tortured or blaming.
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child and his excitement at discovering this world of science. At the same time, it’s sad to read about the abuse and isolation he and his brother endured at the school they were sent to during WW2. Typical of his generous, positive view is that even these sad times (like his brother’s eventual mental illness, and his parents’ unawareness of his own suffering at the horrible school and their inexplicably thoughtless, even insensitive, behavior, and his own anxieties and isolation) never sound regretful or self-centeredly whiny, though he describes them forthrightly. He’s generous and direct and loving in his description of his passions, as well as his depiction of his enormously engaging, supportive and remarkable family. It’s refreshing to read a personal account that is not tortured or blaming.
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LibraryThing member hcubic
I was finally impelled to read "Uncle Tungsten", which had been recommended by innumerable chemist friends, because of the opportunity to meet the author at the ACS meeting in New York last month. Oliver Sacks is a few years older than I am, but his "Memoir of a Chemical Boyhood" brought back my
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own memories of youthful chemistry experiments and fascination with the power of science. Sacks writes about wartime London, while I grew up on the US West coast, but it is remarkable how many interests, books and experiences we shared. I hope I am not the last chemist to discover this wonderful book, which describes a boyhood in science experiences that is unimaginable to a child today. Sacks is also author of "Awakenings", "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat", and "The Island of the Colorblind". Show Less
LibraryThing member clothingoptional
An ancient magic draws all little boys to fire. They sit and stare at smoldering campfires, delighting when flames stir with the breeze. Sometimes, they stand in reverent silence before a book of matches or a cigarette lighter, but more often they are overcome with an irresistible urge to spark and
We know a little boy like this. At the tender age of five, enamored with fire, the boy believed he could make a rocket. He took a four foot length of copper pipe into his backyard, and rammed it into the earth beneath the cavernous shade of a decrepit willow. Into this vessel, he poured a fair amount of gasoline, some measure of other dangerous chemicals, and added a good dose of industrial petroleum jelly. One can readily guess the attitude of his mother when he went inside the house to ask where the family kept the matches.
Despite this early setback, the boy went on with his experiments, such as they were. He was limited by his lack of chemical guidance, and by a stock of materials that consisted of whatever he could scrounge from the garage or the basement. He never did anything important and never learned much of anything except what would and what would not readily burned. This was the extent of his explorations.
As he proceeded through science classes in school, he found he had a great aptitude for chemistry. He easily grasped the principles of organic chemistry when other classmates struggled. The entire concept of a chemical bond seemed so obvious to him as to be second nature. Yet, there was something amiss with our young man's process into the world of science. While he loved to learn the laws and the measure of things, the way certain elements combined while others would not, and how one might tear apart these materials with surprising ease, he sensed a gap in his knowledge. He was learning only the data and theory, but nothing of the process. He had no understanding whatsoever of how all of this knowledge came to be, even less how he seemed to know without knowing all that his teachers would tell.
It wasn't until much later in life, when the boy had left the field of chemistry behind and turned his interests elsewhere, that he discovered what he was missing all those years ago. What he was missing was history. In history, he found the stories of men and women, driven to light fires in the darkness, probing their way through a murky world of an evolving field of thought. There, he found context.
Without context, one is highly unlikely to discover anything new, unless entirely by accident and then it is doubtful that one would recognize the new phenomenon when it was found. In the study of history, one will find examples of just this sort of miraculous tinkering. One will also discover how, with just a slight change in this method or another, a crackpot suddenly becomes a genius.
Unlike the boy in our story, Dr. Oliver Sacks had the benefit of growing up in a scientific family. He had aunts and uncles and parents who were practicing doctors and scientists. All of these sources turned the young Oliver on to the history of science, a history which our boy was so sadly ignorant. Through young Oliver's eyes, we recognized how basic knowledge and the ready availability of materials, combined with practical experience to drive a boy to experiment. However, it was the exposure to history, Dr. Sacks's love of the lives of the scientists who had come before him, that enabled the boy to move from mere mimicry to mastery.
Or at least this is what we're led to believe.
Dr. Sacks does such a wonderful job of introducing history only when the reader {and the boy who is his memory} is prepared to receive it, that we wonder if reality matches the perfect and structured way his education seemed to present itself. Still, even if the truth is a picture of fits and starts, we hardly mind. The book was a pleasure to read, and ought to be required reading for all students of science. Not only will they come away with a better understanding of the facts, but context both the history and a connection with the author's experience will fuel their curiosity.
As we read, we kept finding ourselves referring to the periodic table of elements included in the book. We mused on the possibility of setting up a lab of our own, playing at the experiments. When we caught ourselves in the midst of seriously considering the construction of a Leyden jar, we laughed and wondered how we could feel like such little children again, caught up in the love of science so that we might do such things if only because they could be done.
We are greatly indebted to Dr. Sacks for writing this book, and sharing his personal {and often painful} history. The boy who built the rocket in his backyard would have recognized young Oliver's retreat into the solitary. Perhaps, if he'd had the same advantages, he too might have discovered some comfort in the shelter of science. For us, it was rejuvenating to muse again not just how a fire burns, but why.
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burn.We know a little boy like this. At the tender age of five, enamored with fire, the boy believed he could make a rocket. He took a four foot length of copper pipe into his backyard, and rammed it into the earth beneath the cavernous shade of a decrepit willow. Into this vessel, he poured a fair amount of gasoline, some measure of other dangerous chemicals, and added a good dose of industrial petroleum jelly. One can readily guess the attitude of his mother when he went inside the house to ask where the family kept the matches.
Despite this early setback, the boy went on with his experiments, such as they were. He was limited by his lack of chemical guidance, and by a stock of materials that consisted of whatever he could scrounge from the garage or the basement. He never did anything important and never learned much of anything except what would and what would not readily burned. This was the extent of his explorations.
As he proceeded through science classes in school, he found he had a great aptitude for chemistry. He easily grasped the principles of organic chemistry when other classmates struggled. The entire concept of a chemical bond seemed so obvious to him as to be second nature. Yet, there was something amiss with our young man's process into the world of science. While he loved to learn the laws and the measure of things, the way certain elements combined while others would not, and how one might tear apart these materials with surprising ease, he sensed a gap in his knowledge. He was learning only the data and theory, but nothing of the process. He had no understanding whatsoever of how all of this knowledge came to be, even less how he seemed to know without knowing all that his teachers would tell.
It wasn't until much later in life, when the boy had left the field of chemistry behind and turned his interests elsewhere, that he discovered what he was missing all those years ago. What he was missing was history. In history, he found the stories of men and women, driven to light fires in the darkness, probing their way through a murky world of an evolving field of thought. There, he found context.
Without context, one is highly unlikely to discover anything new, unless entirely by accident and then it is doubtful that one would recognize the new phenomenon when it was found. In the study of history, one will find examples of just this sort of miraculous tinkering. One will also discover how, with just a slight change in this method or another, a crackpot suddenly becomes a genius.
Unlike the boy in our story, Dr. Oliver Sacks had the benefit of growing up in a scientific family. He had aunts and uncles and parents who were practicing doctors and scientists. All of these sources turned the young Oliver on to the history of science, a history which our boy was so sadly ignorant. Through young Oliver's eyes, we recognized how basic knowledge and the ready availability of materials, combined with practical experience to drive a boy to experiment. However, it was the exposure to history, Dr. Sacks's love of the lives of the scientists who had come before him, that enabled the boy to move from mere mimicry to mastery.
Or at least this is what we're led to believe.
Dr. Sacks does such a wonderful job of introducing history only when the reader {and the boy who is his memory} is prepared to receive it, that we wonder if reality matches the perfect and structured way his education seemed to present itself. Still, even if the truth is a picture of fits and starts, we hardly mind. The book was a pleasure to read, and ought to be required reading for all students of science. Not only will they come away with a better understanding of the facts, but context both the history and a connection with the author's experience will fuel their curiosity.
As we read, we kept finding ourselves referring to the periodic table of elements included in the book. We mused on the possibility of setting up a lab of our own, playing at the experiments. When we caught ourselves in the midst of seriously considering the construction of a Leyden jar, we laughed and wondered how we could feel like such little children again, caught up in the love of science so that we might do such things if only because they could be done.
We are greatly indebted to Dr. Sacks for writing this book, and sharing his personal {and often painful} history. The boy who built the rocket in his backyard would have recognized young Oliver's retreat into the solitary. Perhaps, if he'd had the same advantages, he too might have discovered some comfort in the shelter of science. For us, it was rejuvenating to muse again not just how a fire burns, but why.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TimBazzett
This could have been a fascinating memoir, but UNCLE TUNGSTEN: MEMORIES OF A CHEMICAL BOYHOOD suffers from too much science nd not enough memoir. Oliver Sacks grew up in the years before and during the Second World War, a very comfortable Jewish childhood in London, where both his parents were
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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doctors, his father a GP and his mother a surgeon. The youngest of three sons, his world was abruptly changed when he was sent away to a harsh boarding school for his own protection during the war years and the blitz. Small and shy, during these difficult years he found refuge in the study of science, the elements,and chemistry. His Uncle Dave (aka Uncle Tungsten) owned a profitable light bulb factory and was a self-taught scientist himself and encouraged young Oliver's interest. These parts of the story were very interesting. Unfortunately they took a back seat to long chapters about chemistry, minerals, experiments, scientific oddities and discoveries, etc. Science stuff. Which I skimmed over mostly. Finally I gave it up. Sacks is a fine writer though, and I still hope to read that last memoir he wrote just before his death. This one is best suited to readers of more scientific bent than I. Not my cuppa tea.- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
This is an unusual sort of memoir. Sacks' family was extensive and largely of a technical turn of mind. Both parents were doctors, his aunts and uncles included a lightbulb manufacturer and a biologist. And so he becomes interested in chemistry almost as a result of being surrounded by it. Uncle
There is quite a lot of the history of science in here, the move from alchemy to chemistry, the development of the periodic table, the discoveries of different elements and the structure of the atom. There is a lot less about Sacks' childhood. It is almost mentioned in passing along side the shifting interest in all things chemical. He describes his school being evacuated during the first art of the war and the dreadful experience he had there, but it barely makes more than a paragraph. His brother's response to the school and the impact on him mental health is hardly more than a couple of lines. Which makes for an odd read, if I'm honest. It's not a memoir of childhood, more a memoir of an interest in chemistry. As a scientist myself, I knew (or once knew) most of the technical detail in here. In which case, for me, it was more a refresher and reminder of what makes science so enthralling. I'm not sure what the non-technical reader would make of it.
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Dave, the lightbulb manufacturer, had samples of all sorts of filament materials and so he introduces the young Oliver to metals, their origins, their ores and their properties. From here is a brief step to general chemistry. His parents let him set up a chemistry lab in a spare room on the back of the house and from this report its a wonder that any of them made it out alive! There is quite a lot of the history of science in here, the move from alchemy to chemistry, the development of the periodic table, the discoveries of different elements and the structure of the atom. There is a lot less about Sacks' childhood. It is almost mentioned in passing along side the shifting interest in all things chemical. He describes his school being evacuated during the first art of the war and the dreadful experience he had there, but it barely makes more than a paragraph. His brother's response to the school and the impact on him mental health is hardly more than a couple of lines. Which makes for an odd read, if I'm honest. It's not a memoir of childhood, more a memoir of an interest in chemistry. As a scientist myself, I knew (or once knew) most of the technical detail in here. In which case, for me, it was more a refresher and reminder of what makes science so enthralling. I'm not sure what the non-technical reader would make of it.
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LibraryThing member aevaughn
I enjoyed listening to Sacks's story throughout the memoir including his reminiscing of bits of chemical/physics history. His last chapter discussing his transition away from Chemistry into Medicine was the most striking. I found it disconcerting that formal study of a subject would make someone
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with such a love for a discipline to lose interest. Although, I took heart in knowing that more than that went into the equation. In particular, his parent's desire for him to study medicine and the quantum chemistry portion of chemistry being so troubling for him. Show Less
LibraryThing member Steve38
A typically slow paced, simply written but involving book from Mr Sachs. About his fascination with chemistry as a child. Inspired by his uncles and his parents he had a privileged childhood but one not without its traumas with evacuation from London during the war. We learn about his childhood but
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it's also a lesson in chemistry and its history. If you never understood the periodic table this book will explain it for you. Show Less
LibraryThing member amaraduende
This book took a while to digest - it's full of chemistry and nostalgia and scientific history... really enjoyable. Took me like a week to read though!
Subjects
Awards
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Science & Technology — 2001)
The Economist Best Books (2001.17)
Wingate Literary Prize (Winner — Non-Fiction — 2002)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Biography — 2001)
Language
Original language
English