This month we’re celebrating 20 years of a popular science classic: Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks. In his memoir, Sacks – who later became a famous neurologist – recounts how he discovered his love for science growing up in the 1930 and 40s. We’ll try to find out whether this book is worth reading (or re-reading), chat to the chemist whose own childhood was influenced by Sacks’ work and talk to Laura Snyder, the historian of science writing Sacks’ biography.
You can also read Neil’s review of Uncle Tungsten here.
Next month, we’ll be reading The Poison Trials: Wonder Drugs, Experiment and the Battle for Authority in Renaissance Science by historian Alisha Rankin. The book tells the little-known story of medicine in 16th century Europe, a time when physicians were developing new drugs and antidotes by trying them out on human subjects.
If you, dear listener (or viewer), have any fond memories of reading Uncle Tungsten or know of a book you would like us to discuss in an upcoming book club, let us know in the comments below or tweet at us @ChemistryWorld.
Correction: Laura Snyder’s description was updated on 14 January.
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