Book description
This memoir from Oliver Sacks is both a departure from and an enhancement of his previous psychologically orientated 'medical' writing. Not only is it a beautifully written account of an English childhood - seasoned by a childish passion for science - but it is told from the intimate and revelatory…
Why read it?
1 author picked Uncle Tungsten as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
An author I can’t recommend highly enough.
Sack’s biography of his childhood in London is full of chemical curiosity and surrounded by family members who shared his enthusiasm, encouraged his experimentation, and supplied seemingly endless fascinating stories about elements and chemistry. There are stories of Sacks making powerful stinks in the garden shed and the titular Uncle Tungsten who talked about metals as though they were friends.
From Kathryn's list on chemistry that aren’t chemistry.
If you love Uncle Tungsten...
A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman
A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman explores how a philosophy of life can be built from the lessons of the natural world. Amid a childhood of trauma, Lindy Elkins-Tanton fell in love with science as a means of healing and consolation. She takes us from the wilds…
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