science                                                                                                                                  august 2010
                 “Highly recommended for public                                                   Sam Kean
                     libraries.” —Library Journal                                                 The Disappearing Spoon 
                                                                                                  And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History 
                                                                                                  of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
                                                                                                  The  infectious  tales  and  astounding  details  in  The 
                                                                                                  Disappearing  Spoon    follow  carbon,  neon,  silicon,  and 
                                                                                                  gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, 
                                                                                                  mythology,  war,  the  arts,  poison,  and  the  lives  of  the 
                                                                                                  frequently mad scientists who discovered them
                                                                                                  The  periodic  table  is  one  of  man’s  crowning  scientific 
                                                                                                  achieements.  „ut  it’s  also  a  treasure  troe  of  stories  of 
                                                                                                  passion, adenture, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious 
                                                                                                  tales  and  astounding  details  in  The  isappearing  Spoon  
                                                                                                  follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their 
                                                                                                  parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, 
                                                                                                  poison, and the lies of the ‰freŠuently‹ mad scientists who 
                                                                                                  discoered them.
                                                                                                  We learn that arie Curie used to prooke Œealousy in 
                                                                                                  colleagues’  wies  when  she’d  inite  them  into  closets  to 
                                                                                                  see  her  glow‚in‚the‚dark  eŽperiments.  ­nd  that  ‘ewis 
                                                                                                  and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country 
                                                                                                  and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the 
             Read by Sean Runnette                                                                ground. Why did ’andhi hate iodine“ Why did the  apanese 
             Category: Science                                                                    kill ’odzilla with missiles made of cadmium“ ­nd why did 
             Running Time: 12 hrs - Unabridged                                                    tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history“
             Hardcover: 07/12/2010 (Little Brown)
             Territory: US                                                                        Marketing
             On Sale Date: 08/23/2010                                                             •   Kean’s funny, informed writing is full of memorable, 
             Trade  9781400119523  10 Audio CDs  $34.99                                               little-known stories, including how to use the elements 
             Library 9781400149520  10 Audio CDs  $83.99
             MP3         9781400169528              1 MP3-CD             $24.99                       to make a spoon that disappears, and will appeal to the 
                                                                                                      many fans of the Mental Floss series and those in search 
                                 Sam Kean is a writer  in Washington,                                 of entertaining facts about scientific phenomena
                                 D.C. His work has appeared in the New                            •   he periodic table is not yet complete, and the pursuit 
                                 York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate,                            of the net element is competitie and newsworthy, 
                                 the Believer, Air & Space, Science, and the                          giing The Disappearing Spoon currency in the worlds of 
                                 New Scientist. He is currently working as                            academia and ournalism
                                 a reporter at Science magazine and as a 
            iddlebury nironmental  ournalism fellow.                                       Praise for The disappearing spoon
           Sean Runnette, an AudioFile arphones ­ward winner,                                    “ntertaining and enlightening.” —Kirkus
           has also produced seeral ­udie ­ward–winning audio‚                                   “With a constant flow of fun facts bubbling to the surface, 
           books. ­udiobooks by ƒunnette include The Puliser by 
           ­lan „rinkley and The Yout Pill by Daid …tipp.                                       •ean writes with wit, flair, and authority in a debut that will 
                                                                                                  delight een general –listeners—.” —Publishers Weekly
                                                                                                  “Whether eŽplaining why …ilicon ˜alley is not ’ermanium 
                                                                                                  ˜alley  or  reeling  in  naming‚rights  battles  oer  a  new 
                                                                                                  element, •ean holds interest throughout his entertaining 
                                                                                                  debut.” —Booklist
                                                                                                  “The isappearing Spoon is a pleasure and full of insights. ™f 
                                                                                                  only ™ had read it before taking chemistry.”  
                                                                                                                   —Mark kurlanksy, author of The Eastern Stars
                                                 Tantor
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                               for More inforMation                                               also available froM tantor
                 oll Free ­€€€­‚ƒ­ƒ€                           antor „udio                                   eborah  lum
                 Fa ­­­€­‚€­‚…                      ‚  usiness †ark ‡oad                                      The Poisoner’s Handbook
                 wwwtantorcom                   ˆld Saybrook, ‰ Šƒ‹€Œ                                         ISBN 13: 9781400115501