The Periodic Table

It is a memoir that uses 21 chapters, each named after a chemical element, as a structural framework for reflections on Levi's life as a Jewish chemist in Turin and his survival of Auschwitz. The book blends autobiography, short fiction, and scientific essay, and resists easy classification into a single genre.

Levi's chemistry training at the University of Turin ultimately saved his life in Auschwitz, where he was assigned to work in a synthetic rubber laboratory (Buna-Werk) rather than in the brutal labor details. The chapter "Cerium" describes how Levi and fellow prisoner Alberto extracted ferrocerium from cigarette lighter flints to trade for bread that sustained them in the camp's final months.

The final chapter traces the journey of a single carbon atom as it moves through geological, biological, and chemical processes—from limestone to carbon dioxide to a grapevine to a human cell. It is widely celebrated as one of the finest pieces of science writing in literature, demonstrating Levi's gift for making abstract chemistry vividly narrative.

In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain conducted a public vote that named "The Periodic Table" the best science book ever written. The book was first published in Italian in 1975 as "Il sistema periodico" and translated into English by Raymond Rosenthal in 1984.