Description

Book Synopsis

Uncle Tungsten radiates all the delight and wonder of a boy’s adventures, and is an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary young mind.

Oliver Sacks evokes, with warmth and wit, his upbringing in wartime England. He tells of the large science-steeped family who fostered his early fascination with chemistry. There follow his years at boarding school where, though unhappy, he developed the intellectual curiosity that would shape his later life. And we hear of his return to London, an emotionally bereft ten-year-old who found solace in his passion for learning.

‘If you did not think that gallium and iridium could move you, this superb book will change your mind’ – The Times



Trade Review
This book is both a heartwarming account of a delightful, eccentric family life and an inspiring record of a remarkable intellectual odyssey. * Mail on Sunday *
The amalgamation of personal recollection and scientific history makes a luminous, inspiring book. * Sunday Telegraph *
Uncle Tungsten is really about the raw joy of scientific understanding; what it is like to be a precocious child discovering the alchemical secrets of reality for the first time: the sheer thrill of finding intelligible patterns in nature. * Guardian *

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood

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    A Paperback / softback by Oliver Sacks

    £10.44

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    RRP £10.99 – you save £0.55 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Fri 11 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Pan Macmillan
      Published 20 April 2023
      ISBN-13 9781529087444
      978-1529087444
      ISBN-10 1529087449
      Also in:
      Biography Biography: science, technology and medicine Memoirs Health & Wellbeing Popular psychology Self Help & Mindfulness Books by Oliver Sacks

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Uncle Tungsten radiates all the delight and wonder of a boy’s adventures, and is an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary young mind.

      Oliver Sacks evokes, with warmth and wit, his upbringing in wartime England. He tells of the large science-steeped family who fostered his early fascination with chemistry. There follow his years at boarding school where, though unhappy, he developed the intellectual curiosity that would shape his later life. And we hear of his return to London, an emotionally bereft ten-year-old who found solace in his passion for learning.

      ‘If you did not think that gallium and iridium could move you, this superb book will change your mind’ – The Times



      Trade Review
      This book is both a heartwarming account of a delightful, eccentric family life and an inspiring record of a remarkable intellectual odyssey. * Mail on Sunday *
      The amalgamation of personal recollection and scientific history makes a luminous, inspiring book. * Sunday Telegraph *
      Uncle Tungsten is really about the raw joy of scientific understanding; what it is like to be a precocious child discovering the alchemical secrets of reality for the first time: the sheer thrill of finding intelligible patterns in nature. * Guardian *

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