The Icepick Surgeon

Praise for The Icepick Surgeon: Fascinating... Kean argues convincingly that what makes his subjects unique in the annals of crime is that they did wrong 'for data--to augment our understanding of the world.' This engrossing look at crimes often committed by otherwise moral people deserves a wide readership. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Praise for Sam Kean: Sam Kean is brimming with puckish wit . . . He makes you see and experience and appreciate the world differently, with a real sense of wonder and a joy of discovery. --Boston Globe [An] interesting discussion of the meaning of true progress and its cost is a thoughtful look through history and into the future. --Cassie Gutman, Bookriot Kean crams his books full of wild yarns told with humorously dramatic flair . . . The effect is oddly intimate, the way all good storytelling is--you feel like you're sharing moments of geeky amusement with a particularly hip chemistry teacher. --San Francisco Chronicle Kean's strength lies in his storytelling, and in the humane combination of humor and compassion toward the strange life histories he pieces together. --Columbus Dispatch Sam Kean is a gifted storyteller with a knack for finding the magic hidden in the everyday. --Daniel H. Pink, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Drive The best science writers bring an enthusiasm for the material that infects those of us who wouldn't usually give a flying proton. Kean unpacks the periodic table's bag of tricks with such aplomb and fascination that material normally as heavy as lead transmutes into gold. With the anecdotal flourishes of Oliver Sacks and the populist accessibility of Malcolm Gladwell, Kean succeeds in giving us the cold hard facts, both human and chemical, behind the astounding phenomena without sacrificing any of the wonder. --Entertainment Weekly