The thing one must understand about Sam Kean’s The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements is that it is not supposed to be taken too seriously. After all, one does put right there in the title that their book is about the periodic table within such a whimsical subtitle if one is attempting to sell only to science nerds. Nerd will plenty of information to keep them happy, but Kean is looking to untether the periodic table from its stodgy moorings and bring into the world of bathroom reading.
Ultimately, this is the sort of book one can leave sitting with page corner folded down to keep place of where you left off. This is the nature of the content and, more importantly, the style of the structure. Within each chapter devoted to one or more of the elements making up the periodic table are multiple narratives of various lengths, but most short enough to cover in a visit to the bathroom. Or, if one prefers long engagement, while waiting in line. Or while drifting off the sleep at night. It is that kind of book. Which is not intended as criticism, but merely description and analysis. If one so choose, one can delve into the more serious-minded stories behind the discovery of each element.
For instance, Chapter Three: “The Galapagos of the Periodic Table” gets pretty deeply involved in the story of Robert Bunsen—of Bunsen burner fame—and two of his students, Dmitri Mendeleev and Julius Lothar Meyer. It is a story filled with difficult names like Lecoq de Boisbaudran, rivalries between scientists, and large doses of intense scientific geekery. It is not a chapter that is intended to be read under circumstances requiring divided attention. But that’s okay; as the English Beat advise, save it for later. A chapter or two down the road offers a tale more steeped in military history than science featuring a reference to Timothy McVeigh, an even more memorably Satanic villain named Fritz Haber, and the much more familiar and accessible backdrop of World War II.
A panoply of minor characters pop up in the stories contained within The Disappearing Spoon as the author tells about the discovery of the elements making up the table. Among the more recognizably familiar cameo appearances are that mythical King who turns everything he touches into Au and Mark Twain as a result of his short story about a devil made out of Ra. Just carve out a little bit of time and prepare to pick it up periodically, enjoying some elements more than others.
