Periodic Tales

I saw a book review in the Statesman that I thought would be interesting.  Hugh Aldersey-Williams has been trying to collect pure samples of every element known to humankind.  He wants to see and feel the elements that otherwise seem to exist only as abbreviations on the periodic table.  He shares his passion with his latest book Periodic Tales:  A Cultural History of the Elements, From Arsenic to Zinc.  

Few people give elements a second thought outside of chemistry class, but each one has an interesting story.   The quest for gold drove some cultures to explore the world, while other cultures dismissed it as useless, and Chlorine changed the way nations waged war.  Aldersey-Williams writes about how each element was discovered, explains its place in human history and describes the cultural changes it wrought.  Readers don't need a strong science background to appreciate the stories.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but this interests me.  It's described as a charming look at the building blocks that are all around us; told with simplicity and elegance.  (Just a little review, in case anyone is interested.)