Kean has Bill Bryson's comic touch... a lively history of the elements and the characters behind their discovery

A wealth of fascinating stories with a dazzling cast of heroes and villains. Written with gusto and backed by a mind-boggling amount of research, this is a real page turner

One of the most readable and entertaining books about science yet published ... [Kean] is master of enlightening metaphors

The periodic table meets the best-seller list with Sam Kean's Disappearing Spoon, an engaging tour of the elements... with the éclat of raw sodium dropped in a beaker of water

the anecdotal flourishes of Oliver Sacks and the populist accessibility of Malcolm Gladwell

A superb read... This book stands comparison with Primo Levi's The Periodic Table, and indeed of the two I prefer it

This book is entirely entertaining - it's a real page turner, and there's very little not to like about the combination of a string of QI like fascinating facts with a whole slew of engaging stories... a delight to read, taking a very predictable subject and approaching it in an entertaining, original and informative way... if you want to be entertained and find out lots of history and fascinating facts around the elements themselves, this is the one for you

A science book you didn't have to get beaten up in high school to read

Only once in a rare while does an author come along with the craft and the vision to capture the fun and fascination of chemistry. The Disappearing Spoon is a pleasure and full of insights. If only I had read it before taking chemistry