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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 540.92
EAN: 9780465027750
ISBN: 046502775X
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: January 01, 2004
Publisher: Basic Books
Release Date: April 27, 2004
Sales Rank: 178926
Studio: Basic Books
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The story of the enigmatic man who organized chemistry into the periodic table--and of how he tried to organize Imperial Russia.
Dmitrii Mendeleev: It's a name we recognize, but only as the disheveled scientist pictured in our high school chemistry textbook, the creator of the periodic table of elements. Until now little has been known about the man, but A Well-Ordered Thing draws a portrait of this chemist in three full dimensions.
Historian Michael Gordin also details Mendeleev's complex relationship with the Russian Empire that was his home. From his attack on Spiritualism to his humiliation at the hands of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, from his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip to his failed voyage to the Arctic, this is the story of an extraordinary man deeply invested in the good of his country. And the ideals that shaped his work in politics and culture were the same ones that led a young chemistry professor to start putting elements in order.
Mendeleev was a loyal subject of the Tsar, but he was also a maverick who thought that only an outsider could perfect a modern Russia. A Well-Ordered Thing is a fascinating glimpse into the world of Imperial Russia--and into the life of one of its most notorious minds.
Amazon.com Review:
An academic biography, Michael D. Gordin's A Well-Ordered Thing tells Dmitri Mendeleev's story in dense prose, detailed with Russian history and molecular chemistry. Mendeleev will forever be remembered as the inventor of the periodic table of the elements, which sorts hydrogen, helium, lithium, and so on, according to their weights and properties. Readers unfamiliar with either the periodic table or the politics of Imperial Russia will have a tough go of it. Nevertheless, Gordin's treatment reveals surprising facts about the enigmatic Mendeleev and his social context.
The periodic system was developed in Russia by an individual who was ... trying to bring order to a Russian society that was apparently disintegrating.... In order to understand the building of this part of modern chemistry, one must come to terms with the attempts to create a modern Russia. Far from a stereotypically isolated scientist surrounded by bubbling beakers and cryptic lore, the "ambitious and energetic" Mendeleev was a very public figure. He involved himself eagerly in the social problems of the day and participated actively in trying to shape a new society. His pursuits included hot-air balloons, art criticism, debunking Spiritualists, and perfecting systems of every kind. When he hit on the idea of periodicity in the elements, he published his table first in a chemistry textbook, later submitting papers to other scientists once his confidence allowed him to make predictions of elements yet to be discovered. Gordin paints Mendeleev as a consummate Imperial who was shocked by the revolution that toppled the Tsar. This complex civil servant and brilliant scientist deserves wider appreciation, and A Well-Ordered Thing provides a rich context for examination of Mendeleev's life. --Therese Littleton
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
It's difficult to 'grade' a book that refused to stay on what the intended topic (as presented to the reader). When I ordered the book, I thought the picture of Mendeleev was a rather haunting one, that looked like so many of the great minds like Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and other minds from the slightly earlier time of the Enlightenment. This was a man who started his life in the time of horse and carriage, of gas lights, of sloppy science in Russia, and ended in the next century when his country ... Read More
Rating:  -
Chapters 1-3 of this book were exactly what I expected with the history of Mendeleev and the periodic table. However, the author mentions at the end of chapter three that Medeleev did not work on the periodic table from that point on to the end of his life.
My primary reason for reading the book was to learn about the history of the periodic table. I stopped reading in the middle of chapter four when Mendeleev was pursuing other interests.
The first three chapters are excellent ... Read More
Rating:  -
+++++
When I studied chemistry in high school, I was taught that Mendeleev (pronounced Men-de-LAY-ev) was, due to his "Periodic Law," the inspiration behind the periodic table of chemical elements, perhaps "the most widely recognized talisman of modern science." And that was it! Nothing more was said. Thus, I thought that Mendeleev was only of importance due to his association with the periodic table. I thought this until I picked up this book and learned how wrong I was!
This ... Read More
Rating: -
When young Dmitrii Mendeleev drafted the Periodic Table of Elements as a guide for his chemistry students, he was already dreaming of building a scientific empire in his home of Russia - with himself at its center. His Periodic Table predicted the existence of three unknown elements and helped foster the entire science of chemistry, so it's sad to learn the name of Dmitrii Mendeleev himself has been relatively lost in relation to his creation. Micahel D. Gordon's A Well-Ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev And ... Read More
Rating: -
I've heard a part of story of Mendeleev directly from Michael Gordin during the dinners in the Harvard Society of Fellows, and the discussions with Michael were always extremely insightful as well as entertaining.
One of the main reasons is that Michael knows a lot, and he is interested in everything. My feeling is that he knows more about Russian history than those who are specialized in humanities. Think about any two people whom you know and who lived in the 19th century or the early 20th century ... Read More
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