Engaging text and photographs vividly showcase each element of the periodic table, offering a heightened sense of the material world to, truly, everyone--from students encountering chemistry in school for the first time to adults with a vague notion of facts learned long ago, to anyone curious and alive to either the aesthetics and the practicalities of "stuff." The photos include a full-page image of the pure element and smaller photos that show how that particular configuration of matter manifests itself in familiar, every-day objects. Gray has a media presence with his science writings; he is also co-founder of the company that created the technical software Mathematica and is a charming interpreter of the sciences for a general audience. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)