Oliver SacksUncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood

I have long been an Oliver Sacks fangirl, since reading his inimitable "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" years ago when it first came out. I don't know how I missed knowing about this book till now, 9 years after it came out. In reading all of Sacks's books, I have always felt that not only was Sacks telling me a lot about oddities of the medical world, but also implicitly, quite a lot about the oddity of his own personality. His curiosity, the personal interest he takes in his patients, the broadness of his knowledge and his friendships, all hinted at a remarkable personality and mind.In this book, the origin of his amazing mind becomes more explicit. First of all, he was born into what must be a most remarkable family. In the 1940s, both his father and mother were practicing physicians and his many aunts and uncles were all involved deeply in science. They also provided him with an amazing amount of encouragement and freedom. When as a boy of 8 or 9 he developed a passion for chemistry, his family was able to allow him to set up an actual lab in his house, and to provide him the time, freedom and resources to re-live much of the development of chemistry for himself.Not only chemistry, but they arranged for an amazing array of experiences--he dissected the body of a young girl when he was but 14, his mother would bring home fetuses from stillbirths, he was treated as an adult with serious interests. The whole story induced in me a sort of nostalgia for the freedoms of childhood which have pretty much vanished in the modern world. He himself notes that when, after 6 or more years of independent exploration of the world of chemistry, he finally was taught chemistry in the classroom, he found it dull and uninspiring. Our kids today have so little opportunity to touch and taste and smell life. They are so bound by tests and safety regulations and our own fears.I found the book a revelation of the development of a gifted mind. His sensual enthusiasm for science, his broad reading in literature and even philosophy and history while still a boy, seem remarkable to me. I can see this book being given to a young person who has an interest in science, to spark a new way of looking at science, not as a collection of known facts, but as a narrative of human beings obsessed with understanding, groping their way towards knowledge.I have long had an interest in the lives of medical researchers, who worked with a passion to understand dreadful diseases, but this is the first time I ever had a hint that chemistry was a story about people, that the knowledge of this subject also has a romance to it.There were a few places where I skimmed past some of the more technical explanations. But what a wonderful introduction this would be to the study of chemistry for a young person. I loved it.

There’s more science than strict autobiography here. Oliver Sacks tells how all the magical certainties of science were his refuge throughout his early years when WWII and so much else was quaking the human world around him. He relished the odd smells and the fiery globules he could send rushing through the house as a result of various chemical combinations he contrived in his laundry room-become-laboratory.In the process of learning about his youthful enthusiasms, you’ll get an almost complete overview of chemistry and physics in these pages. But it won’t be the abstract, cold study you might have encountered in school. Sacks’ introduction to these disciplines is filled with his personal noticing of the little things – the way a piece of tungsten hefted in his hand, the luster on a chunk of wolframite, the way sparks could be made to arc between different metals.He includes some telling details from the biographies of various scientists he admired, ones who led the way in the experiments he was so joyously duplicating. You’ll be introduced to Hooke, Boyle, Lavoisier, Davy, and the Curies. Many of these individuals took the same kind of sensual delight in their materials that he took. Reading this made me wish I could have had a similar field of dreams, full of enchantment with the elemental things of this earth.The book isn’t all science though. Sacks does provide some intimate detail. Among his most telling reflections is his account of the cruelty he encountered in the school he was removed to in order to keep him safe from the bombings centered on London during the War. Although brief, his reflections on these experiences provide some of the best insights available into the effects of corporal punishment and bullying. He tells how he became in some ways cruel (such as to his dog) when he came home, in hopes of drawing his parents’ attention to the cruelties he himself had been suffering.This would be a good book to pass along to a young person in order to awaken them to the wonders all around them. Although the evolution of Sacks’ interests has a somewhat sad ending, any young person reading this account would be hard pressed to ever again take a bored attitude of “whatever.”

Great book. Engaging autobiography and also very informative when it comes to chemistry. The closest I've come to understanding quantum physics was while reading this book, as he explains the history of how the understanding of elements and atoms developed over time.Also, this was a 2nd-hand hardback copy sent over from the USA, which I had bought as a gift, having read it myself a few years back. I was struck by how much better quality the US version was, compared to the UK hardback version I had bought for myself. I'm told by a retired publisher that this is normal, and is a result of the economics of larger print runs enabling more money to be spent on design. The paper was better quality and the print, although slightly smaller, was sharper and eaier to read.The down-side to getting it from the States though - apart from different spelligns of course - is that it took 3 weeks to arrive. They did say that's how long it could take so I can't complain, and I would definitly consider buying books from the States again.

In this childhood autobiography Oliver Sachs revisits his childhood growing up in a North London Jewish family the son of two G.P. parents.Young Oliver had an extended family full of many unusual characters including the eponomous "uncle tungsten" - his Uncle who ran a light bulb manufacturing plant, and was a mine of information about chemistry. another uncle was a Physicist and introduced Oliver to many of the wonders of science and nature.The book traces the historical origins of Chemistry, interwoven with Olivers own discovery of Science set against a background of impending war in Europe in the late 1930's.Oliver Sachs eventually went on the become a "celebrity" Neurologist & author in the U.S. but it is clear from this book that he retains many profoundly moving and exciting memories of a childhood in Britain learning the wonders of Chemistry.

Oliver Sacks is a really good writer, and here again he shows what he can do. A fascinating and privileged childhood despite some parts (boarding school) which were far from. His family was clearly wonderful, gifted, and willing to devote a lot of time to the young Oliver. His enthusiasm for chemistry as a lad mirrors my own; but his dedicated pursuit by far surpasses mine, and the fact that the family could afford to set him up with his own lab reminds me of Charles Darwin rather than either myself of my childhood friends. For anyone with an interest in chemistry, or just an interest in how a boy destined to be a real original thinker and therapist was raised, this is highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book, the wonder and passion that inspired this great man was truly enchanting, captivating and infectious. The tales of his boyhood, the wonderment, thrill and sanctuary that chemistry bought to this highly intelligent, yet at times vulnerable young man, superbly written, a great read for anyone interested in the author, science, chemistry and physics, it's development and milestones.

A remarkable person from a remarkable family-I had no idea Great stuff, simply charming