For Albert Einstein she was “our Madame Curie”, for the Nazis an unwanted Jew and for the tabloid press “the mother of the atom bomb”. Only the second woman to receive a doctorate in physics, Lise Meitner graduated from the University of Vienna in 1906 and established herself in the male dominated science community. In 1938 she fled from the National Socialists and settled in Sweden, where she achieved her big breakthrough together with Otto Frisch: the discovery of the principle of nuclear fission. But the Nobel Prize she deserved eluded her. She spent the final years of her life in Cambridge. The authors paint a portrait of Meitner’s life against the backdrop of the rapid progress of nuclear physics and the great catastrophes of the 20th century, and provide new insights in the world of this unique scientist.

Renée Schroeder is a multi-faceted woman. A biochemist based in Vienna, she fought her way to the top of the international scientific community. No small undertaking for a woman in this field. Now in her 'unretirement', she has started a new career on her own farm, researching wild herbs. Renée Schroeder's life has never been conventional. Born in Brazil in 1953, her family moved to Luxembourg when she was a child and then to the Austrian town of Bruck an der Mur. After training in Munich, Paris and the US, she settled in Vienna to build her career. A staunch atheist, she has fought many battles relating to science and feminism. This is a compelling biography about an extraordinary and strong-minded woman.

Everything consists of a few building blocks, the elements. Nature, people, every single thing. One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, St. Petersburg scientist Dmitri Mendeleev applied a systematic order to all matter. Every element found its permanent place in the periodic table. But the periodic table has always been more than just a chart in the chemistry lab. Michael Pilz brings it to life by recounting the story from the beginning, and looking into the future at the end. He tells us about the old ores and elements of nature and about the antique concept of the four great elements. From the divine art of alchemy through to the scientific world of the periodic table and beyond, he provides a cultural history of world views and describes chemistry as the most joyful science of our time.