Somewhere in my geekish childhood, I thought it was necessary to learn the periodic table of elements. So I copied them out of a book and memorized every one. I don’t remember why I needed to know it and I remember the table only vaguely. Now if I want to renew my interest, there is a beautiful and comprehensive book called Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe (Black Dog & Leventhal, $29.95) by Theodore Gray. While you can’t exactly see hydrogen and helium, except in the huge, colorful photographs here by Nick Mann, you can observe those elements that are in rock formation. What’s more, you can see how they are used. That putter Dad got for his birthday may be made of beryllium.