The Disappearing Spoon

And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

By: Sam Kean

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

“The Disappearing Spoon is my favorite kind of science journalism: it reveals a hidden universe in the form of a thrilling tale.” (BoingBoing)

“Arthur C. Clarke once noted that truly advanced science cannot be distinguished from magic. Kean succeeds in giving us the cold hard facts, both human and chemical, behind the astounding phenomena without sacrificing any of the wonder — a trait vital to any science writer worth his NaCl." (Entertainment Weekly)

Science Magazine reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country; their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in The Disappearing Spoon.

©2010 Sam Kean (P)2010 Tantor

If you like science and fiction...

If you like stories about science, specifically centered on elements of the periodic table, you will love this book. They are not science stories, but great stories related to science. Along the way you will get a little science, but not so much. It's mostly about great stories, like why you can track the Lewis & Clark expedition by the mercury laxatives they took, why spoons were made from gallium, why Fleishman and Ponds, why they put bismuth in pepto, and on and on. The stories are only related by their chemical connection, but it all hangs together in a terrific collection performed excellently. Five stars for the stories, four for the performance. Very entertaining.

Quick! How many elements can you name?

I had long been curious about all those other elements beyond the 20 or so the average person can name, but I had never realized how important a role the period table itself had played in helping them all to be discovered. This book tells that story. But it goes much further than that. This is a collection of so many cool stories about the discovery of the elements, the people who discovered them, and the uses to which some of these elements have been put. War, poison, jealousy, rivalries, friendships, love affairs and many other factors come into play here. This is a very human story of the lurching story of scientific progress. Highly recommended.

I just fell in love with science

If history, or science, or psychology, or sociology, or political science, or economics are of any interest to you, you must read this book. I had no idea the history of scientific discoveries is so captivating. This author, Sam Kean, looks at both the history and the science of the discovery, function, and use of the periodic table. He clearly and insightfully explains scientific concepts that I never was able to see are really easy to grasp. This book is freaking awesome and I hardly even made it through high school chemistry! It turns out that all those serious scientific minds of history who developed the periodic table and experimented with it were all rather crazy and intensely interesting.

Thoroughly enjoyable and educational

Chemistry was the class I least liked in high-school. I hated all those chemical equations. I never understood the periodic table either.
And yet, I found this book to be a fascinating tell of how how we developed a better understanding of the atoms and quantum physics that make our universe work. I would have never thought a chemistry book would make me sit in the parking lot after I got to work, wanting to spend a few more minutes in the car listening to this book.
If you are intellectually curious, and if you love science, by all means get this book.

Informative but rather dry.

This was a well researched book but I found many sections were hard to understand and my mind often wandered during some parts of the presentation. I enjoyed the Bill Bryson Book " A Short History of Nearly Everything" much much more. It covered many of the same topics in a much more entertaining style.

Good but needs a little more

I enjoyed this tome but felt that there could have been more background on the "scandals" promised in the title. The reader was enjoyable to listen to and the history behind the formation of the periodic table was rather fascinating. I would have liked to hear a bit more dirt, however. Worth a listen, for sure

captivating

I'm a chemistry major and was looking for a fun book to read on the side and this was a perfect supplement to my education. It is full of interesting stories and facts about some of the more fascinating elements on the periodic table. It also incorporates topics of biology, physics, mathematics, and more.

A delightful set of organic stories

Where does The Disappearing Spoon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Besides the fact that I find ranking books and music inherently stupid, there are just too many in my Audible library alone to guess. Had it been a physical book, it would live on the same bookshelf with all my other "go-tos anytime", within reach, and well-scribbled upon many pages (:

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Disappearing Spoon?

"Germanium Valley" (:

Which scene was your favorite?

Come on, Audible! Who writes these questions? You're just asking for spoilers!

Any additional comments?

Exceptionally well-written book. It's for anyone, who's interested in science and the workings of nature in general - it touches upon many subjects, logically flowing form one to another. It's deep - yet not meandering. Informative - yet not overbearing. You will learn about the many real (and false) contributors to human knowledge in a delightful set of organic stories, with vivid characters and, of course, chemistry!

Narrator Sean Runnette is absolutely delightful, too. Listening to it for the second time in a row now. Makes me feel elated and happy, though very often I have to rewind a couple of minutes back and go google - and not every book can make me to that. Sam Kean is my new favourite now, going to hunt down the rest of his published materials!

Cross-posted on Goodreads.

So freaking coooollllll!!!

I love this! I seriously have enjoyed getting my mind blown at every turn of the page, pancake atoms? Anti- bubbles? The alpha constant?! Why didn’t I learn this in school? The periodic table, physics and chemistry would all have been so much more fun! A great read even if you don’t care one iota about chemistry or even science in general.

You don't have to be a scientist to read this book

I am not a scientist, not even close. I barely passed high school chemistry and only vaguely remember the periodic table. Yet, I have always like scientific concepts and history. I found this book fascinating. I learned so much about the periodic table in a fun and interesting manner. I loved the history and anecdotes behind the discovery of the elements. It was through this story telling that I was able to really understand and appreciate the science of the periodic table and elements. I truly recommend this book.