I’ve posted before about this, but I have to admit that I find the elements fascinating. History, chemistry, science, alchemy all combined make for fascinating stories. Before, I posted about “Nature’s building blocks,” by John Emsley. While I was looking for him on Amazon, I found he’s written a bunch of other books around the elements:

• Nature’s Building Blocks

• The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus

• Vanity, Vitality, and Virility: The Science behind the Products You Love to Buy

• The Elements (Oxford Chemistry Guides)

• Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life

Damn. Too many books, and not enough time & money to read them all.