Elegant Solutions: Ten Beautiful Experiments in Chemistry

I highly recommend Ball’s book, which makes much of chemistry. Accessible to the nonchemist.–Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, Vol 31, Number 1 (2006) (Leo B Slater)

It is rare for a book on chemistry to involve such feelings of awe as this one does. Elegant Solutions is an absolute delight, completely fulfilling Armstrong’s words about the chemist being full of feeling. Wherever you work in chemistry, this book will have something to help you, to set you thinking, and to make you proud of your professional calling. Make sure you get a copy.–Education in Chemistry, March 2006 (John Nicholson)

One of Ball’s objectives is to encourage us to think about what an experiment is and what role experiments play in the evolution of science.The whole book is full of vivid characters, pointed anecdote and insightful comment, and is a delight to read. It is accessible to any reasonably well-motivated non-chemist, and would make a fine present for such a person.–Chemistry & Industry, 15th May 2006 (Martyn Berry)

This book is particularly strong in that it is readily accessible by a general readership. It provokes you to think about how aesthetic values are related to experimental virtues.–Joachim Schummer,

This is a delightful (beautiful?) book that deserves a wide audience……The book contains ten chapters that do more than describe individual experiments; they put it in the context of contemporary thought and attitudes and the characters of the chemists themselves.It should be read by A-level students to put their learning in context and by undergraduates to examine the experimental process….an excellent addition to Phillip Ball’s growing list of popular science titles.–Physical Sciences Educational Reviews, Volume 8, Issue 2, October 2007 (Roy Lowry)