The Elements - John Emsley
The third edition of this widely acclaimed reference book collects together the most important facts about all the chemical elements in a single volume. In addition to chemical, physical, nuclear, and electron data, this edition includes new sections on crystal, biological, and geological data. The alphabetical format of the earlier versions has been retained. Also included are the six newly approved IUPAC names of the elements 104 - 109; rutherfordium, dubnium, seaborgium, bohrium, hassium, and meitnerium.

This handy reference guide is for chemists, physicists, spectroscopists, geologists, life scientists, and environmentalists. Available from the chemsoc bookstore.


Oxford University Press, 1998.
Molecules at an Exhibition - Portraits of intriguing materials in everyday life - John Emsley
'John Emsley is the ultimate guide to the chemical Louvre: always making you wish for more!'

Carl Djerassi, Stanford University

'Welcome to John Emsley's personal and informative tour of the molecular masterpieces of Nature. The world of chemistry has never been made as entertaining as in this remarkable guide.'

Roald Hoffman, Cornell University
Some of the key exhibits:

Methyl mercaptan - the worst smell in the world

Zinc - the metal that could galvanise your sex life

Melatonin - the secret of a good night's sleep

Nitric oxide - the gas that gets men ready for action

Keratin - saving the rhinoceros by understanding its chemistry

Americium - the radioactive lifesaver that lurks in our homes


Oxford University Press, 1998.
Dr. John Emsley is Science Writer in Residence at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and editor of Chem@Cam.