Knowledge does not arrive fully formed, it requires many minds to puzzle over the evidence. Jackson tracks the history of the periodic table, a powerful yet elegant tool that lays bare the building blocks of the universe. The 12-page foldout timeline sets the saga of the periodic table against the backdrop of world history.

Introduction -- Prehistory to the first century AD (40,000 - 0) -- The Dark Ages to the Middle Ages (0 - 1600) -- The Enlightenment (1600 - 1800) -- The 19th century: the great age of science (1800 - 1900) -- The modern era (1900 - present) -- 101 chemistry: the basics -- The periodic table -- Imponderables -- The great chemists.