From Library Journal
In this companion volume to his Stories of the Invisible: A Guided Tour of Molecules, Ball takes on chemistry in its uncombined form-the elements. His first few chapters deal with the shifting story of how humankind answered the question "What are things made of?" Initially a philosophical matter, it became one of alchemy and later of chemistry and physics as techniques for analyzing the substances became more refined. As Ball shows, the properties of the naturally occurring elements gave rise to the periodic table, which in turn predicted then-undiscovered elements to fill in the gaps. Purely synthetic elements, created in laboratories by manipulating the various pieces of atoms (once thought indivisible), are explored in a chapter that provides one of the better explanations of nuclear reactions in lay terms. A final chapter offers an overview of the applied science of elements. The result is not as fresh or as original as Ball's previous work; many other books are more successful in addressing the topic of chemical discovery for general readers, most notably Trevor H. Levere's Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball. An optional purchase for public and college libraries, especially those that purchased Stories of the Invisible.
Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Libs., OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ball's popular works of chemistry rejuvenate interest in its wonders. Turning to the elements, Ball does not organize his work according to the periodic table (P. W. Atkins' approach in The Periodic Kingdom, 1995); instead, he chooses to summarize the historical answers given to the question, What are things made of? Earth, wind, fire, and water, said Aristotle; five geometric solids, said Plato. The persistence of these ancient Greek speculations as cultural, if not scientific, referents exemplifies an enlivening stylistic theme of Ball's: how people in general, not just scientists, think of the elements. Mention "atom," and many people will think of Niels Bohr's "solar system" diagram, which is ubiquitous --inaccurate though it is. After exploring such cultural angles, Ball's narrative always works its way back to his original query, which pioneering chemists such as Lavoisier, Dalton, and Mendeleyev investigated with varying degrees of accuracy and error. With topical range and technical clarity, Ball ensures an audience for his enjoyable survey. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Ball brings the periodic table to life."--Discover Magazine
"These ingredients combine to make a tasty little book."--American Scientist
"Provocative...surely worth a read by both general readers and chemists."--Nature
"A delight of a book with a modest title that gives small hint of its merits. Elegantly written, it is about the long search to find out what the Earth and the life it supports are made of, a fascinating tale. The Ingredients could have been a plodding expedition following the tracks of Dmitry
Mendeleyev and his periodic table, informative but eyelid-weighing. Instead it's far-reaching, entertaining and salted with anedote, such as the story of the ingenious way that gold was concealed from the Nazis in Denmark by dissolving it in acid and keeping jars containing the black solution in
full view on a laboratory shelf. It could become a classic."--New Scientist
"By weaving the elements seamlessly into a coherent narrative, the author has given meaning to the entire system without overwhelming the reader with the profusion of its part. That's good writing."--Natural History
"Ball covers the history of his field with admirable conciseness, taking welcome detours into the colorful lore of certain members of the periodic table, notably gold, which perhaps event today remains the single most charismatic of earthly substances. Solid scientific history, entertainingly
presented."--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Philip Ball is a science writer and consultant editor for Nature. He is the author of Self-Made Tapestry, Designing the Molecular World, Stories of the Invisible: A Guided Tour of Molecules, and Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water. He lives in London.
