"Christian Skofteland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >I've only read the books I mentioned, but I've heard of "The Man who mistook >his wife for a hat" It sounds a lot like "An Anthropologist on Mars". I'm >definitely getting "Uncle Tungsten". Thanks for bringing it up here.
"Uncle Tungsten" is a marvelous autobiography. It starts with his earliest memories and goes through adolescence. It's built around his childhood fascination with chemistry and tells two stories in parallel: The history of chemistry and his own process of growing up. His use of this allegory is beautifully crafted. Combine that with a childhood in London that had World War II in the middle of it and you've got quite a tale! It's a great lesson in basic principles of chemistry as well. In the section on photography he describes how he even made his own film emulsions. Talk about "do it yourself"! -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
