One might argue that by pulling away the shroud of sanctification that covered Lincoln after his assassination, Pryor sees only what those with a passing acquaintance of Lincoln knew. However, she successfully provides insight into a man who revealed and represented the imperfections, imperatives, and possibilities of a democratic people.
This text would be an excellent supplement in an undergraduate general chemistry or introductory science course and is a good selection for motivated readers interested in chemistry.
A summary of this type is overdue, as previous works are dated and less accessible. Niccolò Guicciardini's Reading the Principia and I. Bernard Cohen's guide to the Principia, preceding his and Anne Whitman's translation, accomplish the same goals but with less elegance and simplicity. Highly recommended for all science and mathematics enthusiasts, instructors, and readers.
With his mixed approach of using both the social and the scientific context to tell each element's story, Scerri supplements more specialized reference works and provides material for all scientists searching for further insight into the elements and the relationships among them. Recent popular works exploring the intersections between the personal and the scientific include Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon and William F. Bynum's A Little History of Science. This is highly recommended for all curious science readers and historians of science.
Those wishing to add to their collection of guides to the elements may want to examine John Emlsey's Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements or Theodore Gray's more recent The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe for similar information and presentation. Strongly recommended for all science readers and instructors looking for supplements to their classroom texts.