Created in the early 1860s by Dmitri Mendeleev, the Periodic Table marked one of the most extraordinary advances in modern chemistry. Surveying these 118 building blocks of the universe, James Russell explains the creation of the first three elements, hydrogen, lithium and helium; discusses oxygen and carbon, which sustain life on earth; and delves into the weird and wonderful uses of fluorine, arsenic, krypton, and einsteinium.