I found this book very slow at the beginning, but it picked up for me at the end, maybe because I'm more interested in physics than in chemistry. ( )

Really good insight into what it was like growing up in a large well-off Jewish family in London around the time of the second world war. His enthusiasm for chemistry and botany, and for learning in general, is contagious and delightful. His memory for detail and the influencing characters is amazing. Some of the chemical terms and descriptions are hard to understand which got a bit boring towards the end of the book. Also it seemed to end rather abruptly. But these small criticisms are dwarfed by an otherwise delightful read. ( )

The book contains more about tungsten than it does about his uncle, and might have been better if the proportions had been reversed. Anyone without the elements of a scientific education may find it hard and consequently boring to follow, being structured as it is round the history of chemistry and the discovery and classification of the elements. It is interesting to compare it with the anecdotes of Richard Feynman concerning his upbringing. Feynman was older and from a less privileged family, so he felt the impact of the Great Depression more as he was growing up. But it is clear that both men felt the same compulsive need to discover for themselves how things worked, and the same joy when they realised what they had understood - in Sacks' case, with the help of his talented uncles, in Feynman's, by talks with his father, and for both of them, by the freedom to experiment. It was unfortunate for Sacks that his boarding schools were a bad influence on him, and that his parents didn't realise it, being preoccupied with their own careers. ( )

Memory is Precious: I loved reading this book for multiple reasons, but I will restrict myself to mentioning two. The first is that it is a well constructed story with excellent writing---a combination I cannot resist. The narrative moves at a pace to engage and captivate the reader without making the story just a rush to get to the next page. Writing that is thoughtful makes sure that the reader will savor and think about the events presented. This is worth a read merely to have the understanding of one more perspective presented well.

But there is more to the book that makes me give this an enthusiastic five stars. As a chemist I was delighted to read a book that gave insight into this space of history of the chemistry profession. The history is two-fold: first it is a history of childhood enthusiasm for science and second it is a history of chemistry in the middle of the 1900s. many a child is enthusiastic about something. For all those children who loved science but never had the means to explore this book will bring sadness at what they lost for not being given such freedom and support. But the book also brings joy at reading that someone, somewhere had the chance to be the brilliant child you always thought you were. Today we highly restrict certain chemicals and also have an emphasis on safety in working with all chemicals. Sacks presents a time period when chemistry and science in general was done with little concern for safety. Instead of glossing over things Sacks presents information and experiments without deluding the reading into thinking it was perfectly safe.

This book is an excellent exploration of multiple themes that are well worth thinking about. I challenge anyone to read it and not find something in it that doesn't provoke some thoughts about what you are doing now with what you are enthusiastic about or what you loved childhood and now have lost as an adult.

This is a book that holds the attention for its woonderful fresh insights into the world of chemistry, as well as a description of the author's family and life in an extended medical scientifically literate Jewish family in London during the war years. I give it to my year 11 chem students (a chapter at a time) as it has a beguiling introduction to the importance of chemistry in our lives. ( )