The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

• Genre: Nonfiction; science
• Originally Published: 2010
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 10-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Introduction, 5 parts; approx. 416 pages; approx. 12 hours, 34 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: In an exploration of history through the elements on the periodic table, Sam Kean fuses science and lore in stories of history, finance, the arts, and medicine. He shows how these chemical elements affected the people who discovered them in a way that appeals to non-chemists and scientists alike.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Chemical warfare    

Sam Kean, Author

• Bio: American New York Times bestselling nonfiction author; born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; studied physics and English literature at University of Minnesota; earned a master’s degree in library science from Catholic University of America; published in The New York Times, Mental Floss, Slate, and The New Scientist; editor of the 18th edition of The Best American Science and Nature Writing
• Other Works: The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code (2012); The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery (2014); Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us (2017); The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science (2021)
• Awards: Amazon’s top science book of the year (2010); Royal Society of London’s book of the year runner-up (2010)  

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Wonderous Properties of the Elements
• The Unpredictability of Scientific Success
• The Endless Search for Knowledge

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical and scientific context regarding the periodic table that drives Kean’s narrative.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Wonderous Properties of the Elements, The Unpredictability of Scientific Success, and The Endless Search for Knowledge.
• Plan and construct a visual media representation of the periodic table based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s purpose and theme to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding heavy elements, scientific discovery, and other topics.