Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements

This book is a great overview of our periodic table. It holds lots of interesting facts and a nice wide range of educational sections for each element without being too technical for non chemists or physicist. This work takes each element and gives you a wealth of information including history, medical, technological, military, and more. As a worker in the social sciences I found this work intelligent and not simplistic without being overly involved to the point of jargon induced confusion. It would be great as a general reference for those of us laymen or knowledge searchers. It would probably be to light and simplistic for people who have had advanced studies on the subject. One particular point I like was the formatting which made it very easy to understand each element. It was a great educational tool for those of us with interest and not the advanced education in the elements.

Excellent resource, very thorough, delightful to read, and a mine of information. Dr. John Emsley delivers yet another fascinating, alluring tome that enlivens chemistry and is difficult to put down. Several annoying typos and at least one outright blooper, however, should be remedied.

Extremely well written and referencedInteresting and makes you want to look moreA fascinating study of the world

I received the book in excellent book like condition. Pages were flexible and binding was firm. The font is reasonable considering the subject matter, and is only 1 point too small for my liking. Pages turned easily and bookmarks fit as expected, however, I have not tested how the pages respond to dog earing as this is a gift for a close friend - I will post an update on this when I have one.Consequently, after receiving this book my toaster stopped working. I cannot say that this event is entirely related to receipt of this book, however, the timing is suspect. I will do additional research and update my review as necessary.Thank you Amazon for the prompt service. I recommend this book based solely on the cover art.

Good book

I've read the last edition more than 4 times! John Emsley has done an excelent job! Each element is described as a hole: phisical characteristics, appearance, medical use, historical about its past, war/weapons uses, main uses today, curiosities, etc. An excelent way to know what are the "building blocks" of everything around us!

Excellent and entertaining coverage of elements including the most recently discovered. A super reference book as one hears of rare earth metals etc in the news

I had borrowed this book from the public library and really wanted to own it. It has so much information about each element. The book came in excellent used condition.

Fastidiously, expertly and with affection, John Emsley has compiled a factual bible that is just about as wonderful as it can be. If you seek every forensic detail of relevance about each remarkable element in our world (present yet usually disguised or elusive) then this is your one-stop-shop. It matters not that there is an absence of images and very few illustrations or graphics because the written descriptions are generally precise and imaginative while the tables are educational gems.There are only two tiny misgivings for me: knowledge of these pure lumps, pools and puffs of matter must always include physical or sensory experience wherever possible. In most cases the Author writes about such aspects but in a scattered and occasionally deficient way.For example, he mentions the bluish tinge of Chromium or Zinc but omits this observation in the case of the equally beautiful Osmium, Vanadium or even Gallium (greenish blue) and what about the greenish gold suffusion in most of the rare earth metals (with some notable exceptions)? Comparisons between pure and minimally tarnished metal samples reveal a subtle but extensive range of hues. Compared to the neutral shine of Aluminium: Tin and even Silver are noticeably more yellow.Odours, particularly of gases but also solid or liquid elements, would be worth examining and placing in context; even if there is a familiarity - as in the Halogens. Ozone also has a characteristic smell; presumably that (not fluorides) is what we detect in treated mains water. I draw a line before taste and touch, unless common perceptions are accessible.The only other wish would be to see a complete table showing the progression of named element atoms with distribution of electrons in shells and highlighting the unexpected irregularities in filling order. Densities (liquid or solid phases only) could also be tabulated unless I've missed it. So could melting points.Notwithstanding these comments I, for one, am deeply grateful to the Author for what he has achieved with this valuable and important book. Once you have a copy you'll wonder how you got by without it.

99% score with almost near brilliant book on one of my favourite hobby subjects.not too technical but just enough ie hybrid between superficial and mad-professor. good bedtime reading for questionable chemistry teachers either educated at or previously taught at... my old school in battersea eg emanuel.BUT missing INFO for each el: (next edition?):1. price at market GBP/kg. current/historic.2. cost to produce GBP/kg. current/historic.3. electro-platable (yes/no) ... details etc. noble/non-noble metals.4. complex ions.5. all ores listed by chem formula and mineral name, mine types, etc.6. colour photo. gold=orange, copper=pink, etc7. magnetic strength. eg nickel or iron8. special uses.9. more physical properties....?10. crystal structure type.11. purity max level. eg silver=99.99%12. examples of companies that mineral search, produce, mine, refine, finished goods, etc in uk, usa, australia, south africa, new zealand, ie english speaking cos.13. discovery country eg rhodium=uk ie 'place' too vague.14. league table by country of discovery.15. where buy from / how16. legal/illegal to own at home/other places.?boring but (also) useful:A. example box set of el's suppliers for schools/colleges/universities/etc.very highly recommended for both GCSE/O and A level and BSc grad students in UK.eg copper, rhodium, silver, gold, platinum, palladium all now used in hi-fi industry.

Even those of us who study chemistry to degree level never learn anything about many of the elements in the periodic table. So it is great to find a book that has something to say about every single one of them.I particularly liked the different sections for each element. Just having its properties would be a bit dry, but being able to also read about such things as its history, toxicity, and economic uses, among other things, is what really makes this book. And, like other reviewers, I enjoyed the "Element of Surprises" section.Anyone with an interest in chemistry will enjoy having this book on their bookshelf.

This book is such an interesting read. I read it through the first time shortly after I bought it - not alphabetically but in order of atomic number, and am now reading it the second time - this time alphabetically - and am enjoying it even more this time round. In between the two reads I used it often as a source of reference, just to look up a certain element. It is completely readable for the non-scientist, but anyone who is remotely interested in physics or chemistry or the history of science would find this book both entertaining and fascinating.

A magnificent compilation! Once I open it I find it difficult to close as I go from element to element. My only complaint: that it is in alphabetical order instead of order of atomic number, but that's not enough to knock off a star.