Periodic Tales is an example of what happens when I spend too much time in aiports... Essentially a book of short stories about various of the elements, their histories (from ancient times and alchemists to the Manhattan Project) and the ways humans have interacted with them through time (from the Biblical references to brimstone, aka sulphur, to the intricate titanium creations of jewelers today), it seemed like an interesting read. For dorks. Only.
I did learn a number of interesting, if generally useless facts: the tip of the Washington Monument is capped with aluminum, the kohl that Cleopatra used to darken her eyes was likely comprised of antimony, euro bank notes are printed with an ink of europium and, in theory, you can make your own phosphorous from urine. (Your own, or anyone else's, I suppose. Hugh Aldersey-Williams does win points in this review for performing - and then publicizing - just such an experiment with four liters of his own urine. Admittedly, the urine reeked. Also, the experiment, which involved collecting the urine for days and then allowing it to evaporate before roasting it and grinding it in a pestle, was unsuccessful.)
In the closing pages of Periodic Tales, Aldersey-Williams writes concisely of his aim: to show that the elements are all around us in both a material and a figurative sense. He does this very well, but ultimately my interest in the periodic table and its elements wasn't strong enough to truly enjoy the book. My final verdict is that total science nerds may enjoy it, but others should probably take a pass.
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