The release date for the English version of '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 is Jul 2010. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
What made Gandhi (I, 53) detest iodine? How did Marie Curie's reputation almost be destroyed by radium (Ra, 88)? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the element of choice for practical jokers in laboratories?**
The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. From the big bang to the end of time, "The Disappearing Spoon" skillfully blends science with the age-old mythology of creation, inquiry, discovery, and alchemy.
* Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Making gallium spoons, serving them with tea, and seeing visitors flinch as their cutlery vanishes is a traditional scientific prank.