Chemistry's most significant chart, the Periodic Table, and its 118 elements, is laid bare in this lively, accessible and compelling expose.

The periodic table, created in the early 1860s by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, marked one of the most extraordinary advances in modern chemistry. This basic visual aid helped scientists to gain a deeper understanding of what chemical elements really were and the role they played in everyday life.

Here, in the authoritative Elementary, James Russell uses his engaging narrative to explain the elements we now know about. From learning about the creation of the first three elements, hydrogen, lithium and helium, in the big bang, through to oxygen and carbon, which sustain life on earth – along with the many weird and wonderful uses of elements as varied as fluorine, arsenic, krypton and einsteinium – even the most unscientifically minded will be enthralled by this fascinating subject.

This is the story of the building blocks of the universe, and the people who identified, isolated and even created them.