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Title: The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe
ISBN: 1579128149
Author:
Theodore Gray
Publicate Date: 2009-10-01
Publish: 2009-10-01
List Price: $29.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $15.80
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $15.77
Amazon Merchant Price: $19.77
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| Customer Review: |
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1: The Elements
The book itself was extremely entertaining but the seller needs to provide more shipping information.
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2: Visually stunning and packed with accessible information
I got this as a way to engage my 5th grade class with elements before we began our study of them. The book informative and full of beautiful photography and the companion website ([...]) is equally stunning (and free). Highly recommended.
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3: The Bill Bryson of the Periodic Table
From Theodore Gray:
"I started collecting elements in 2002 [...and] by 2009,
I had assembled nearly 2,300 objects representing every
element, the possession of which is not forbidden by the
laws of physics or the laws of man. [...] Some elements
can be experienced in large quantities, like the 135-pound
iron ball I keep in my office for people to trip over. Others
are best enjoyed in responsible moderation -- keep too much
uranium in the office, and people start asking questions
(keep over 15 pounds, and the Feds start asking questions)."
Gray's THE ELEMENTS is a lush and visually stunning coffee-table book that showcases those samples and provides a terrific individual "biography" of each element.
He opens with an overview of the Periodic Table and its organization of elements into groups according to their similar characteristics. But then he explores them, element by element, in order of their atomic number rather than by group -- an effective method because the repeated returns to the various groups reinforce those group characteristics while familiarizing readers with the individual elements.
Each biography is a two-page spread -- the left a full-page photo of one of those samples from Gray's collection, and the right an array of text and images that detail the element's history, uses, and technical specs (atomic weight; density; crystal structure; orbital electron arrangement; melting and boiling points; emission spectrum). Though it's a reference work, I read this book straight through -- often thinking, "okay, just one more" but then unable to resist that each element's text ends with a teaser for the next one, and that Gray is liberal with trivia, personal experience, and wit. He dubs Tellurium the most melodic name and discusses the politics involved in naming new elements, finishing: "And so it is that we come to the end of our journey through the periodic table not with a bang, but with a committee."
He's the Bill Bryson of the Periodic Table :) Highly recommended.
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4: Inspiring, pretty and fun
Theodore Gray takes a subject that could be dry and
brings it to life with entertaining pictures and
interesting facts. One could catalog the elements
by just taking a picture of some small boring sample,
but instead, he shows "objects" of many types which
demonstrate the uses of each element.
The book inspired me to follow up. I wondered where
he got the various elemental coins from, and I found
the web site of the guy who makes them. Then, like
a kid in a candy store, I drooled over which items
to acquire, frequently checking back with Gray's book
to decide which I must have first, and by the way,
which I might regret having (like the element that
leaves your hand "smelling like rotten garlic" if
you dare touch it). As a kid, I wanted to collect
all the elements - but it was too hard (especially
long before the internet allowed easy search and
access). In Gray's book, you can see just what it
would be like to have achieved that goal.
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5: The answer to all your child's questions!
This book was gifted to us and it is perfect for my pre-teen who has been asking lots of questions about the periodic table. Just what we were looking for!
We fanned the pages as suggested to see the states of matter displayed in patterns across the periodic table. Fun! (I wish the actual temperatures were listed).
We have spent several evenings reading this book out loud before bed - but not only is it NOT soporific, it usually has us in stitches with laughter! In tears, sometimes! The author's tongue-in-cheek humor is so refreshing for potentially dry content.
After seeing a very close-up photo of each element, and reading a bit about what makes each and every element special, you feel like intimate friends with them. Finally. Us visual learners have been waiting for years for a book like this!
Every high school chemistry class should have a copy of this book!
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