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The periodic table of elements doesn't often make for exciting reading. Or even fun reading. It's a chart with a bunch of numbers and letters, plus the element names are based on the archaic Latin system. It's not the easiest thing to decipher.
However, Sam Kean takes a different approach, history and curiosity. Why are the elements arranged that way? Who discovered this element or that one? How does one go about looking for elements in the first place? Kean has a signature style of making topics like the elements or neuroscience (The Dueling Neurosurgeons) interesting for the lay-person. He approaches science with humor and quirkiness.
I thoroughly enjoyed this telling of the table. It all starts with a boy's fascination with the mercury in the old thermometers. (We don't really use mercury thermometers anymore.) From there, he let his curiosity lead the history. Oh, and if you are curious as to why the spoon disappears, look up gallium.
