[.ca] Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (ISBN 0676975372)

From Amazon.com:
Oliver Sacks's luminous memoir charts the growth of a mind. Born in 1933 into a family of formidably intelligent London Jews, he discovered the wonders of the physical sciences early from his parents and their flock of brilliant siblings, most notably "Uncle Tungsten" (real name, Dave), who "manufactured lightbulbs with filaments of fine tungsten wire." Metals were the substances that first attracted young Oliver, and his descriptions of their colors, textures, and properties are as sensuous and romantic as an art lover's rhapsodies over an Old Master. Seamlessly interwoven with his personal recollections is a masterful survey of scientific history, with emphasis on the great chemists like Robert Boyle, Antoine Lavoisier, and Humphry Davy (Sacks's personal hero). Yet this is not a dry intellectual autobiography; his parents in particular, both doctors, are vividly sketched. His sociable father loved house calls and "was drawn to medicine because its practice was central in human society," while his shy mother "had an intense feeling for structure ... for her \omedicine\c was part of natural history and biology." For young Oliver, unhappy at the brutal boarding school he was sent to during the war, and afraid that he would become mentally ill like his older brother, chemistry was a refuge in an uncertain world. He would outgrow his passion for metals and become a neurologist, but as readers of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat know, he would never leave behind his conviction that science is a profoundly human endeavor. --Wendy Smith

The dean of element enthusiasts!:
A beautiful, beautiful book! In a wonderful amalgam, Oliver Sacks has combined reminisces of his life in war-torn London, with his unfolding education as a scientist, with a history of the chemical elements. Throughout the book the Sacks family appears as kinds of modern-day Bernoullies, chock-full of chemists and doctors. It is not surprising that Oliver grows up as a physician cum chemist. The book will appeal to anyone interested in 1) WW II London, 2) family dynamics, 3) the occurrence and nature of talents in families, and 4) the education of a budding scientist, his adventures -- and misadventures -- along the way. But the book has appeal to yet another kind of reader. Let me explain. About two years ago, I wrote a review of Greenwood's "Chemistry of the Elements." I was surprised at the interest the review elicited, and I received some contacts from readers. It appears there are substantial numbers of "element enthusiasts" - people who generally are not professional chemists, but who have an enduring fascination with the chemical elements. Through publication of his book, "Uncle Tungsten," Oliver Sacks has unquestionably advanced himself as the dean of element enthusiasts! The seamless transitions between Auntie Birdie, to Uncle Tungsten, to Curium and Einsteinium bespeak of a union with the chemical elements that is awesome. The uncial-like etchings that introduce each chapter add a graceful touch. Not only are they decorative but they truly capture the mood of each chapter.

An incredible window into Oliver Sack's childhood...:
Sacks is one of my favorite writers (with the exception of when he writes about ferns rather than people), but I think this is my favorite of all his books, even though it is in some spots uneven. Sacks intertwines his growing interest in chemistry (complete with the fascinating bit-of-science anecdotes that are typical of his work) with the story of his youth in London up to the War. It must have been both a blessing and a curse to grow up in such a family. Such a blessing to have parents that support and revere Sacks' mad-scientist chemistry experiments: when he came close to blowing up the house rather than forbid him to play with such chemicals they bought him a ventilation hood for his 'lab'). But something dark also runs through his story--his parents' strange detachment (his mother had him witness autopsies, if I recall correctly) and his brother's developing schizophrenia. The total effect of all this is that the tone of the story sways from impersonal "here's how such-and-such a chemical makes such-and-such a compound" to a warm evocation of his intellectual and eccentric uncles (his darling Uncle Tungsten), to some of the stranger personal events that stop you short (his brother). In the end I completely forgave Sacks his wandering, because the book seems to replicate precisely how Sacks' mind actually works--one moment completely involved with people, one moment completely involved with science, one moment combining the two in a marvelous combustion that is a hybrid of chemistry and literature. Some day I want to have him to dinner and hear the rest of the story. What a guest he would make!

A Wonderful Book:
There are several authors that occupy the front of my reading list and Oliver Sacks is one of these. I have never been disappointed by anything he has written and I have seen his writing style change and grow into something truly wonderful. This book is no exception. It is an exceptional author who communicates not only his thoughts, words and ideas, but his voice as well. I heard an interview with Dr. Sacks several years ago and while reading Uncle Tungsten, I kept hearing this very careful and precise English accent, which added to the wonder of this exceptional book. Dr. Sacks carefully weaves the history of his family and his own experiences growing up after World War II, with his fascination with the world around him and the history of chemistry. The product is one of the best science histories I have yet to read. I wrestled with chemistry in high school. I finally gave up. If I had Dr. Sack's book, the outcome would have been different.

infectious:
I will preface this review by saying I am not a scientifically literate person. My educational background is in English and Philosohpy. So I cannot pass judgement on the science, a lot of which was above me (or, should I say, a foggy memory from confused high school days). In any event, what struck me about this book is the passion Mr. Sacks demonstrates for the subject act hand--whether that subject be mixing chemicals together or recalling one of his many aunts and uncles or his immediate family. One rarely encounters prose writers whose passion for their family and their work is so infectious.

5 stars for chemists, perhaps 3 for the rest of the world:
As a chemistry teacher and previous admirer of Dr. Sack's books, I am just about the perfect audience for this work. And I loved it. The bookis written in his wonderful story-telling style with plenty of footnotes and sidepaths, dealing with the history of chemistry, odd reactions, magentic properties of metals. For me, this is heaven. I must, in fairness, warn those who don't love chemistry, that they probably won't enjoy this book nearly as much as "An anthropologist on Mars" or "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat". Those books dealt with more universally accessible events and behaviors: autism, Parkinson's, blindness and other neurological problems. Most readers will find them more interesting and compelling reading. But if you do fit into the intended audience, this is one of the most fun books I've ever read about chemistry, and, as a chemistry teacher, I've read a lot of them. I learned a whole lot of new chemistry while reading it, and found my own love of the subject growing with each chapter. But as I read some of the negative reviews, I realized they do have a point. There is a lack of a narrative, his motivations are poorly explained, other people do seem to drop in and out without much followup. But for me, none of this mattered. This book was a pure joy to read. Thank You, Dr. Sacks! robert keil, moorpark college