Mendeleyev's Dream
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- Create Date：2022-12-27 03:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Paul Strathern
- ISBN：1639364749
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Summary
On the night of February 17， 1869， the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleyev went to bed frustrated by a puzzle he had been playing with for years: how the atomic weights of the chemical elements could be grouped in some meaningful way--and one that， with any luck， would open a window onto the hidden structure of nature。 He dreamed， as he later recalled， of "a table where all the elements fell into place as required。" His intuition that when the elements were listed in order of weight， their properties repeated in regular intervals， gave rise to the Periodic Table of the Elements--which， though much revised since， underlies modern chemistry。
Mendeleyev's discovery brackets Paul Strathern's learned and literate history of chemistry。 He traces the origins of that science， as it is understood in the West， to the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus， who backed up his surmises about the nature of things with evidence and used arguments "entirely within the realm of this world。" From Thales's day， Strathern takes us into the studies of Arabic-speaking scientists such as Avicenna and Al-Razi， who preserved classical science and added to it their own insights; introduces us to the medieval alchemists who in turn preserved the work of Islamic scholars while questing to discover the inner secrets of matter （and perhaps make a little gold in the bargain）; and leads us into the early modern world of such greats as Lavoisier， Van Helmont， and Cavendish， who added rigorous methodology and important discoveries to that quest。
Strathern relates false steps and true breakthroughs alike， and his narrative is a pleasure to read。 --Gregory McNamee
Reviews
Sanford Chee
，
"Best book about the periodic table。 Mendeleyev’s Dream helps you understand how the periodic table got pieced together and why it’s so helpful。" -Bill Gateshttps://www。gatesnotes。com/Books/Mend。。。 "Best book about the periodic table。 Mendeleyev’s Dream helps you understand how the periodic table got pieced together and why it’s so helpful。" -Bill Gateshttps://www。gatesnotes。com/Books/Mend。。。 。。。more
Pablo María Fernández
，
I found out about this book thanks to Bill Gates' strong recommendation on Goodreads and review on his personal website （https://www。gatesnotes。com/Books/Mend。。。 "Best book about the periodic table"。 I’ve always been interested in the history of sciences， arts and literature so I quickly got a copy of it。Having read Isaac Asimov’s “The search of the elements” during my early twenties this book didn’t surprise me。 Even this book's subtitle has almost the same name: “The quest of the elements”。 Mo I found out about this book thanks to Bill Gates' strong recommendation on Goodreads and review on his personal website （https://www。gatesnotes。com/Books/Mend。。。 "Best book about the periodic table"。 I’ve always been interested in the history of sciences， arts and literature so I quickly got a copy of it。Having read Isaac Asimov’s “The search of the elements” during my early twenties this book didn’t surprise me。 Even this book's subtitle has almost the same name: “The quest of the elements”。 Most of the alchemist and scientist names sounded familiar and I remembered most of their contribution thanks to Asimov’s remarkable style: easy-to-read but powerful and engaging as a good novel。 Even though Strathern prose is pleasant and the content interesting， I prefer the former more direct approach。 Maybe being a professional biochemist and an inspirational writer helped Asimov achieve a better result in telling this fascinating story。 The introduction seemed too long for me （70 percent of the book） until Mendeleyev appearance。 It was a good brush up of the history of philosophy and alchemy but chapters like Paracelsus’ went into too much detail for my taste。 The best part goes from chapter 11 until the end of the book: the lives and contribution of Lavoisier， Dalton， Berzelius， de Chancourtois and Newlands， key precursors of our hero and his masterpiece。 The author adds some nice touches like Goethe interest in the field and how at that time general culture was not dissociated from science （as it usually happens nowadays）。 In summary， Strathern doesn’t bring anything new to the table。 He tells the story once again with his style。 I think the “Further reading” section is interesting to deep dive into some of the topics and it also reveals the generic type of research done for writing this book。 。。。more
Jeffrey Thompson
，
The book is intended to be a popular work。 The tone is light and very readable。 The author points out repeatedly how superstition which includes major world religions slowed the progress of science。 Despite that narrative， I learned about chemistry and some very colorful scientists。 Some of his historical explanations seemed over simplified。 However， it was a fun， educational， read。
Popup-ch
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A history of chemistry， starting with ancient philosophy， via alchemy， and culminating in Mendeleyev's periodic table。The book is written in a charming tone of voice， and feels more like a friendly seminar than a von-oben lecture。 A history of chemistry， starting with ancient philosophy， via alchemy， and culminating in Mendeleyev's periodic table。The book is written in a charming tone of voice， and feels more like a friendly seminar than a von-oben lecture。 。。。more
Gmendra Lau
，
History of the chemistry！ Why and how Dmitri Mendeleev came to assemble periodic table！Such a funnn read！ Woah！Deep dive into the mind of Mendeleev and Russian history。 6 out of 5 stars。
Daniel Morales
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Se vale de contar la historia de la química para hablar sobre el origen y la evolución de la ciencia （ y sus ramas principales ） en general， pasando por todas las etapas de la historia。
oasisity
，
as a biochemistry major i thought i was DONE with scientific readings but this book — 🥲i’ve laughed， audibly gasped， and felt like i was going crazy along with all of the famous and infamous geniuses of the centuries。 oh this was so entertaining。 i thought i was reading a reality tv script without dialogue。 it contained betrayal， love， and funny narration。 well done Paul Strathern。 this isn’t going to be my last scientific read， but i’m happy it was my first。 i think mendeleyev wouldn’t be TOO s as a biochemistry major i thought i was DONE with scientific readings but this book — 🥲i’ve laughed， audibly gasped， and felt like i was going crazy along with all of the famous and infamous geniuses of the centuries。 oh this was so entertaining。 i thought i was reading a reality tv script without dialogue。 it contained betrayal， love， and funny narration。 well done Paul Strathern。 this isn’t going to be my last scientific read， but i’m happy it was my first。 i think mendeleyev wouldn’t be TOO shocked about how much we rely on his ‘Periodic Law，’ but he’d be a lil amazed about what we’ve found out by using it and developing it each decade。 kudos， kudos， kudos！ 。。。more
Rochelle
，
A highly engaging work detailing the development of scientific thought as well as the pedigree of the periodic table。
Barry Poulson
，
An Entertaining History of a Momentous DiscoveryTo begin with the end known makes suspense difficult ， but by unfolding the story across the centuries Strathern weaves a remarkable story。 Well worth the read！
Jack Laschenski
，
A fascinating history of chemistry and physics。We meet dozens of folks who contributed that I never heard of！Well done。
Peter Grant
，
For a book called Menedeleyev's dream， I had anticipated， not unreasonably that this would be a book about Mendeleyev and the insight he had （including inspiration from nightime reveries） that led to the genius idea of the periodic table - why it's arranged as it is， what this means for elemental properties， just what are transitions elements etc etc。 Instead， after a short cameo in the first chapter， Mendeleyev does not feature again until the penultimate chapter - a brief bio and then a simple For a book called Menedeleyev's dream， I had anticipated， not unreasonably that this would be a book about Mendeleyev and the insight he had （including inspiration from nightime reveries） that led to the genius idea of the periodic table - why it's arranged as it is， what this means for elemental properties， just what are transitions elements etc etc。 Instead， after a short cameo in the first chapter， Mendeleyev does not feature again until the penultimate chapter - a brief bio and then a simple account of him having a dream in which the elements were arranged periodically by weight and。。er。。that was about it。 In between were many interesting chapters giving a roller coaster ride through the history of the understanding of chemistry from the Greeks， through multiple alchemists and some 'characters' like Paracelsus and Cavendish。 As I say， all very interesting but not what I had signed up for。 And it was frustrating that the whirlwind history was so short of the details of exaclty what these minds worked out and exactly how they did it - to me the chemistry should have been the nub of the book。 So， if you're looking for a whistle stop tour of celebrities from the history of chemistry then this is the book for you。 But if you're looking for something that's more about the chemistry then I'd look elsewhere。 That said， it was enjoyable to hear his relentlessly scathing attitude to religion， spirituality and mysticism， all of which were roundly condemned as holding the human race back from making fundamental discoveries。 。。。more
David
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A good history of the development of chemistry。 From the philosophical guess-work of the ancient Greeks （the Four Elements）， to the metaphysical musings of the Alchemists （who still managed to discover a useful thing or two）， to the brilliant insight of Mendeleyev in creating a framework to organize the expanding list of elements， which the new science was discovering in the 19th century。
Anup Sinha
，
While it was a scattered approach to the history of chemistry and science as a whole， Strathern does a good job telling the story of so many of the brilliant scientists before and including Dmitri Mendeleyev。 It was scattered because he didn’t always stay chronological and had a way of drifting in thought。 Plus there was a lot of detail on the more primitive scientists and I admittedly was more interested in John Dalton and after。 So for me， the last sixty pages or so were the most enjoyable。The While it was a scattered approach to the history of chemistry and science as a whole， Strathern does a good job telling the story of so many of the brilliant scientists before and including Dmitri Mendeleyev。 It was scattered because he didn’t always stay chronological and had a way of drifting in thought。 Plus there was a lot of detail on the more primitive scientists and I admittedly was more interested in John Dalton and after。 So for me， the last sixty pages or so were the most enjoyable。The last two chapters are devoted to Mendeleyev and he proved to be an amazing story。 I do wish Strathern wouldn’t have stopped there， much has happened with the periodic table since 1869 and I would have loved some inside information about Henri Moseley， perhaps， who figured out atomic number and changed the way we ordered the periodic table and identified elements altogether。 Recommended for like-minded readers and fellow chemistry teachers！ 。。。more
Michiel Vanhoutte
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Dit boek overloopt de geschiedenis van de scheikunde。 Verwacht dus geen boek over Mendelejev， zoals de titel laat vermoeden。Enkel het eerste en het laatste hoofdstuk spreken over hem。
Albert
，
A good history of how chemistry developed out of philosophy and alchemy to become science。 It's much about how the field developed than how the Table was created。 A good history of how chemistry developed out of philosophy and alchemy to become science。 It's much about how the field developed than how the Table was created。 。。。more
Celso Ferreira
，
Uma fascinante viagem pela história e desenvolvimento da química enquanto ciência。 Desde os primórdios qdo se confundiu com a alquimia e o misticismo até chegar a uma ciência estrutura e extremamente contribuinte para o desenvolvimento do ser humano。 Excelente livro。
Mike Parkes
，
I was looking for a good survey of the history of chemistry， and this is definitely not it。 The first two chapter on the Greeks （the four elements， beginnings of atomic theory） and the Egyptians （beginnings of alchemy） are an OK start， but the book then takes a serious wrong turn， into meanderings on the historical development of the philosophical underpinnings of the scientific method。 For more than 1/3 of the book， there is almost no chemistry at all， but pages and pages of biographical detail I was looking for a good survey of the history of chemistry， and this is definitely not it。 The first two chapter on the Greeks （the four elements， beginnings of atomic theory） and the Egyptians （beginnings of alchemy） are an OK start， but the book then takes a serious wrong turn， into meanderings on the historical development of the philosophical underpinnings of the scientific method。 For more than 1/3 of the book， there is almost no chemistry at all， but pages and pages of biographical details of random folks who contributed little or nothing to chemistry （Nicholas of Cusa， I’m looking at you）。The second half of the book， beginning with Van Helmont’s experiments with gases in the 1500s， is a much better historical summary of chemistry up to Mendeleyev’s theoretical breakthrough of the Periodic Table， although it still suffers from a predilection to spend more time on the biographies of the scientists than on the practical and experimental details of the chemistry they performed。 That’s a weakness of the book as a whole。 Chemistry is the science of matter， but this book doesn’t let you feel the materiality， physicality， and dangers of chemical experimentation。 What were those alchemists actually up to in their smoky dens？ You won’t find out from this book。 。。。more
Hannah Nikiel
，
*4，5
Derek Henderson
，
Mendeleyev himself gets fairly short shrift， and Strathern at times seems more interested in the lives of his protagonists than their contributions to chemistry。 Nonetheless （or perhaps because of that）， interesting and at times illuminating。
Aiman Adlawan
，
A wonderful story about Mendeleyev's Discovery of The Periodic Table。 When I was in highschool， I used to ask how the periodic table was made， invented or discovered。 This books really answered everything。 Though it was not really a one man invention， Mendeleyev puzzled all the pieces of previously discovered elements and brought them together - to answer old question 'What is the most basic element of nature？' was it water？ Earth？ Air？ Fire？ The discovery of the periodic table lays out the basi A wonderful story about Mendeleyev's Discovery of The Periodic Table。 When I was in highschool， I used to ask how the periodic table was made， invented or discovered。 This books really answered everything。 Though it was not really a one man invention， Mendeleyev puzzled all the pieces of previously discovered elements and brought them together - to answer old question 'What is the most basic element of nature？' was it water？ Earth？ Air？ Fire？ The discovery of the periodic table lays out the basic material composition of the universe and this has done a tremendous impact to the development of modern science。 Very wonderful story。The books was supposed to be about Mendeleyev's Life。 But it only talked about him at the first and last chapter。 Everything in between were all about the characters and some significant persons who had contributed on the development of chemistry。 This I thought was essential to understanding how those contributions helped Mendeleyev assembled the elements in one table。 。。。more
Franz
，
I quite liked the book even though it wasn't what I expected - namely a biography of Mendeleyev。 Rather， it is a history of science with a focus on chemistry。 It starts with the Greek philosophers， spends a lot of time on alchemy and explores the impact of the Renaissance before moving on to 'modern times'。 It ends with Mendeleyev - meaning the book doesn't talk about the development of the last 100 years or so。In a way， this book is a series of mini-biographies， some of people I had never heard I quite liked the book even though it wasn't what I expected - namely a biography of Mendeleyev。 Rather， it is a history of science with a focus on chemistry。 It starts with the Greek philosophers， spends a lot of time on alchemy and explores the impact of the Renaissance before moving on to 'modern times'。 It ends with Mendeleyev - meaning the book doesn't talk about the development of the last 100 years or so。In a way， this book is a series of mini-biographies， some of people I had never heard of。 This is not a book that explains chemistry beyond a minimum。 However， since I do like to read and learn about people， I got a lot out of this book - including a mini-biography of Mendeleyev。 。。。more
Barry Mann
，
I would prefer more science and less biography
Harvey Jones
，
I contrast to some of the other reviews， I really enjoyed this book。 it is a journey from alchemy to the 19th century view on Chemistry ending with Mendeleyev and his periodic table of the elements 。My view is that it has a good pace and is quite an easy read。 The book lists all the major contributors to the journey and I plan to read more on the subject as it is quite fascinating。
Yves Martin
，
Not quite enough elements and chemistry based in my opinion， but fine read filled with interesting insights。 Some details are perhaps a bit questionable。 Good overall。
sergio bozzo
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Historia personal de al-quimicaPara quienes gusten de historia， ciencias y las particularidades de los genios， concatenados en un hilo conductor que va desde la antiguedad a lo postmoderno
sarah
，
Strathern chronicles the history of the development of modern chemistry for the general audience， covering important figures and discoveries that deserve more attention than we tend to give them in history and science classes （almost none）。 Beginning with the origins of alchemy， Strathern brings us through the evolution of science right up to Mendeleev's discovery of the periodic table， along the way emphasizing and acknowledging how the many mistakes and false theories we've held throughout tim Strathern chronicles the history of the development of modern chemistry for the general audience， covering important figures and discoveries that deserve more attention than we tend to give them in history and science classes （almost none）。 Beginning with the origins of alchemy， Strathern brings us through the evolution of science right up to Mendeleev's discovery of the periodic table， along the way emphasizing and acknowledging how the many mistakes and false theories we've held throughout time have simultaneously hindered and also paved the way for future discovery。 One of the few books about chemistry I've read for the general audience that does it justice。 。。。more
Philip
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Long history of the development of chemistry in which Mendleyev doesn't figure until the last chapters Long history of the development of chemistry in which Mendleyev doesn't figure until the last chapters 。。。more
Joanne
，
Very enjoyable！ There are lots of funny anecdotes about chemists throughout history， which makes reading about the history of chemistry much easier for someone like me who knows very little about the subject。 This book has inspired me to read more about chemistry。
Elizabeth
，
While the readability of Strathern's amalgamation of historical narrative and scientific progress dips at times， I was completely pulled in to the amazing 2，500 year marathon that produced the modern study of Chemistry。 I laughed， expanded my vocabulary， and was moved by just how many hands passed the baton of research toward a goal of understanding the world around us。 The last chapter is an extremely satisfying resolution to a winding and dramatic collection of stories！ I highly recommend this While the readability of Strathern's amalgamation of historical narrative and scientific progress dips at times， I was completely pulled in to the amazing 2，500 year marathon that produced the modern study of Chemistry。 I laughed， expanded my vocabulary， and was moved by just how many hands passed the baton of research toward a goal of understanding the world around us。 The last chapter is an extremely satisfying resolution to a winding and dramatic collection of stories！ I highly recommend this book to those looking to broaden their knowledge of world history and chemical literacy from a humanistic perspective。 。。。more
Emily Lakdawalla
，
I really hated this book。 The author has nothing but contempt for the philosophers and thinkers who predated the development of Modern Science， variously describing them as mystics， in error， misguided， or even tricksters or charlatans。 Surely some of them were， but most of them were people of their time， striving to understand their world to the best of their ability， their ability being blunted by whatever prejudices they grew up with， which is no different than scientists are today。 Strathern I really hated this book。 The author has nothing but contempt for the philosophers and thinkers who predated the development of Modern Science， variously describing them as mystics， in error， misguided， or even tricksters or charlatans。 Surely some of them were， but most of them were people of their time， striving to understand their world to the best of their ability， their ability being blunted by whatever prejudices they grew up with， which is no different than scientists are today。 Strathern points and laughs about how wrong they were， how far from the true path of objectively true scientific thought。 I'm a scientist and I value the scientific method but I'd argue that even today the method only gives us simplistic glimpses of the truth and I know better than to mock the people who came before me。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Mendeleyev's Dream
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Mendeleyev's Dream&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Mendeleyev's Dream&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0