Everything is made of them, from the furthest reaches of the universe to this book, including you. The elements have lives: personalities and attitudes, talents and shortcomings, stories rich with meaning. In this dazzling tour, you'll meet iron that rains from the heavens and noble gases that light the way to vice.
You'll learn how lead can tell your future while zinc may one day line your coffin. You'll discover what connects the bones in your body with the Whitehouse in Washington, the glow of a streetlamp with the salt on your dinner table.