num_pages: 240
description: A young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller The Disappearing Spoon  chronicling the extraordinary stories behind one of the greatest scientific tools in the periodic table.Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I 53)? How did radium (Ra 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement but it's also a treasure trove of adventure greed betrayal and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history finance mythology conflict the arts medicine and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.Adapted for a middle grade audience the young readers edition of The Disappearing Spoon offers the material in a simple easy-to-follow format with approximately 20 line drawings and sidebars throughout. Students teachers and burgeoning science buffs will love learning about the history behind the chemistry.
language: English
title: The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Rivalry, Adventure, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers