Il sistema periodico (The Periodic Table) was published by Einaudi in 1975. The book consists of twenty-one chapters, each named for a chemical element, each using that element as the starting point for a story, a memoir, or a meditation. The elements structure the book as the periodic table structures chemistry: providing order and relationship to what might otherwise be random autobiography.
“Argon” (an inert gas) introduces Levi’s Jewish-Piedmontese ancestors — a closed community, noble in their way, resistant to outside influence. “Hydrogen” recounts his first chemistry experiment as a teenager. “Iron” describes his friendship with Sandro Delmastro (killed in the Resistance). “Cerium” tells of his survival in Auschwitz through chemistry — stealing cerium rods to trade for bread. “Vanadium” recounts his postwar correspondence with a German chemist who had been his overseer at the Buna factory.
The formal invention is perfect: chemistry provides not merely a structuring device but a way of seeing. Levi approaches human experience as a chemist approaches matter — with curiosity, precision, and the conviction that understanding structure reveals meaning. The book moves between registers (comedy, tragedy, technical description, philosophical essay) with absolute confidence, and the chemical metaphors illuminate rather than obscure the human content.
The Royal Institution of Great Britain voted it the best science book ever written in 2006. Saul Bellow, who championed the English translation (published by Schocken in 1984), called it a book that “preserves the dignity of a human being.”
Collecting The Periodic Table
First edition (Einaudi, Turin, 1975): Cloth with dust jacket.
First English edition (Schocken Books, New York, 1984): Translated by Raymond Rosenthal.
Market values:
- Einaudi first (1975): $300–$800
- Schocken first English (1984), fine/fine: $100–$300
- Signed Italian editions: $1,000+
Projected values (2026–2036): Very strong appreciation. Named the best science book ever written by the Royal Institution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was The Periodic Table named the best science book? In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain voted The Periodic Table the best science book ever written. The book’s genius is structural: each of its 21 chapters is named for a chemical element, and each uses that element as a lens through which to examine an episode of Levi’s life — from his student days in Fascist Italy through Auschwitz to his postwar career as a chemist. Chemistry becomes autobiography, and autobiography becomes philosophy.