The Elements: A Visual Exploration Of Every Known Atom In The Universe, by Theodore Gray

Perhaps the most interesting part of this very interesting book is the way that the author shows both his geekiness and basic humanity through sharing pictures of a substantial part of his collection of elements. I must admit that before reading this book I was not aware that there were such people who collected the elements of the periodic table and who pondered how to get the most pure samples of materials, some of which are obscure and have few uses (aside from, in many cases, toxic paints, niche steel alloys, and somewhat obsolete and inefficient incandescent lights). While collecting elements sounds like a very expensive and space-consuming hobby, this book is the fruit of what is obviously a labor of love in seeking to understand and enjoy as many of the elements of the periodic table as it is possible to do. I have to admit that to a great extent I found the infectious enjoyment of the author in finding samples of elements and discussing their uses and the complexities of their nature to be deeply inspiring, as even if this is not a habit I personally wish to emulate, it is certainly one I can celebrate and appreciate, and that is enough for me.

It must be emphasized that this is a book that lives up to its name. The author promises a visual exploration of the elements and this is what we get. The author has found a way to collect a great many samples that are quirky and odd, and many of the pages of the book are full of such samples, of elements that many readers are going to be barely familiar with. It should be noted, though, that there are plenty of words in this book as well as pictures, and though the pictures are likely to make this book a treasure to those who want to explore the elements of the periodic table as more than numbers and chemical symbols, the text of this book is quirky and entertaining in its own right. The author frequently compares elements to others, looking at ways that elements have been used throughout history up to the present day, how it is that elements were discovered and separated, and also some ways in which he can make a judgment on the elements and the ways that people have found to use them, even the relative frequency and locations where they can be found, all of which is highly worth reading. Whether you read this book for its pictures or for its text, then, the author definitely has something to offer.

In terms of its organization and structure, this book is pretty striking in not having a table of contents or much in the way of large divisions of the book that are officially mapped out. Nonetheless, the book definitely has a structure. It begins with a discussion of the periodic table, dividing it into blocks and examining these blocks one or two at a time. This is followed by a brief discussion of how the periodic table got its shape. After this, though, the main party of the book consists of the elements discussed one by one–at least those elements that can be found in larger than miniscule amounts that can be owned and seen by people, one of which, strangely enough, is a Transuranium element called Americium that is part of smoke detectors that are readily available. Each page for the various elements contains a picture of the material, in as pure a form as can be found, on the left page of a pair, along with a column of text and materials that are made out of the element on the right-facing page, as well as a small bar on the far right that contains a discussion of the element’s place on the periodic table, its atomic weight, density, atomic readius, crystal structure, electron filling order, emission spectrum, and its state of matter, all of which are deeply interesting information. Sometimes, for more notable elements, there is an additional two-page set of photos of various objects of the particular element for the reader to appreciate. After element 95, there are not enough atoms of the elements available for personal collection, and the text part becomes larger as the author explains how the elements were found and what they were named after, which is an interesting tale in its own right. After the elements are done, the author provides a brief section explaining the joy of element collecting and then the book ends with a brief index.