A Guide to the Elements (Oxford) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Guide to the Elements by Albert Stwertka is an excellent source of information about the history, origin of name, and important/interesting uses of the elements up to atomic number 112. A chronology of the discovery of the elements and many contemporary as well as historical illustrations enhance the information in the text. Information about physical and chemical properties is not included. An excellent companion for the chemistry classroom is Exploring Chemical Elements and their Compounds by David L. Heiserman which has information about chemical and physical properties as well as abundance, allotropes, and isotopes.

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Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements Review

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(More customer reviews)John Emsley writes excellent books on chemistry and Emsley's The Elements [3rd Edition] is an indispensable guide to the chemical elements for scientists. However, a layperson delving into The Elements may find it tough going because of its myriad numbers and tiny tidbits of text. In Nature's Building Blocks, Emsley dispenses with most of the numbers and expands the tidbits of text into page length essays on each element. Even though the book is clearly a reference book, the section on each element is an enjoyable read. Each section is divided into subsections that relate the element's significance to the cosmos, humans, food, medicine, history, war, economics, the environment, and then ends with a section called the Element of Suprise [one element's suprise is that there is nothing that Emsley could find to say about it that was suprising]. This book contains the kind of information I need as a chemistry and earth science teacher in a high school to spice up discussions on the elements. All laypeople with an interest in chemistry need a copy of this excellent book. Every high school library in the country should have a copy of this book on their shelves.

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The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was first published last year in England under the title 'The Shocking History of Phosphorus'. However, its US publishers decided to call it 'The 13th element' because it was the 13th element to be discovered, and I mention this in the book. I am aware that the atomic number of phosphorus is 15 - indeed I wrote a text book devoted entirely to phosphorus chemistry more than 20 years ago - and I am sorry if this has caused some readers to think that I have got my chemistry wrong.

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The incredible "glowing" history of the "Devil's element "phosphorusDiscovered by alchemists, prescribed by apothecaries, exploited by ninth-century industrialists, and abused by twentieth-century combatants, the chemical element phosphorus has fascinated us for more than three centuries. It may even be the cause of will-o'-the wisps and spontaneous human combustion! Now John Emsley has written an enthralling account of this eerily luminescent element. Shining with wonderful nuggets-from murders-by-phosphorus to a match factory strike; from the firebombing of Hamburg to the deadly compounds derived from phosphorus today-The 13th Element weaves together a rich tableau of brilliant and oddball characters, social upheavals, and bizarre events.

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