The Elements We Live By

A journey around the world to discover where in nature we can find the elements of life and the many, surprising ways in which they're essential to our survival



We all know that we depend on elements for survival - from oxygen in the air we breathe to carbon in the molecular structures of all living things. But we seldom appreciate how, say, phosphorus holds our DNA together or how potassium powers our optic nerves enabling us to see.

Physicist and award-winning author Anja Røyne takes us on an astonishing journey through chemistry and physics, introducing the building blocks from which we humans - and everything else in the world - are made. Not only does Røyne explain why our bodies need iron, phosphorus, silicon, potassium and many more elements in just the right amounts in order to function, she also shows us where in the world these precious elements are found (some of them in limited and quickly depleting quantities).

Røyne helps us understand how precariously balanced our lives - and ways of living - really are, and to appreciate little known and generally unsung heroes of the periodic table in an entirely new light.

'An excellent book about the elements . . . a popular science heavyweight which wears its knowledge lightly'
Mari Grydeland, Aftenposten