The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance, by Eric Scerri
This book is being published by Oxford University Press on Sept 15th,
2006.price: $ 35.00 (hardcover, 400 pages), 74 illustrations.
for a full description see the OUP webpage,
Reviews: "Written to a high standard of scholarship, "The Periodic Table" is the only book of its kind currently on the market, giving both an historical and philosophical perspective to the development of this key to the elements. The philosophical discussion Scerri weaves through its pages is rarely found in chemistry books, giving it a special quality that will appeal to the scientific community at large. In years to come it will be seen as essential reading for all who aspire to lecture and write on the subject."
- John Emsley, author of "The Elements" and "Nature's Building Blocks"
"As the author of "The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years" (1969), I consider Scerri's "The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance" a worthy successor. I declare his new book a must, not only for all historians of chemistry and the other natural sciences, but also for the scientists and pupils thereof."
-- Jan W. van Spronsen, author of "The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years"
"Few concepts are more important in chemistry than the periodic table, and Eric Scerri's book offers a wonderfully thorough, lucid, and provocative introduction for both chemists and the scientifically literate to this major cultural contribution. Anyone interested in the foundations of chemistry will take delight, inspiration, and information from this highly approachable book." Peter Atkins, author of "The Periodic Kingdom", "Molecules" etc.
"The periodic table of elements is the family tree of stuff, and Eric Scerri's book tells the story of its evolution--through all the false starts and inspired insights, mutations and selections, driven by philosophy as much as calculation. Like any family story, it's a messy tangle of relationships--between elementary particles and between people. The ultimate question is philosophical: Does it all boil down to different configurations of hydrogen? Or is chemistry--and therefore nature--ultimately irreducible?" K.C. Cole, Author of "The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty" and "Mind Over Matter: Conversations with the Cosmos".
Advance orders can be placed with Amazon.com at,
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