num_pages: 195
description: A chemist by training, Primo Levi became one of the supreme witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In these haunting reflections inspired by the elements of the periodic table, he ranges from young love to political savagery; from the inert gas argon - and 'inert' relatives like the uncle who stayed in bed for twenty-two years - to life-giving carbon. 'Iron' honours the mountain-climbing resistance hero who put iron in Levi's student soul, 'Cerium' recalls the improvised cigarette lighters which saved his life in Auschwitz, while 'Vanadium' describes an eerie post-war correspondence with the man who had been his 'boss' there. All are written with characteristically understated eloquence and shot through with deep humanity.
language: English
title: The Periodic Table
titlecomplete: The Periodic Table
characters: Primo Levi
genres: Biography, Italy, Short Stories, Science, Nonfiction, Memoir, Chemistry, Classics, Italian Literature, History
ratings_count: 16301
places: Turin
publisher: Penguin Books Ltd