Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World

by Tom Zoellner

Book Overview

The astonishing biography of a mineral that can sustain our world- or destroy it Uranium occurs naturally in the earth's crust-yet holds the power to end all life on the planet. This is its fundamental paradox, and its story is a fascinating window into the valor, greed, genius, and folly of humanity. A problem for miners in the Middle Ages, an inspiration to novelists and a boon to medicine, a devastat-ing weapon at the end of World War II, and eventually...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014311672X
• ISBN13: 9780143116721
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Rock that changed really the World

What a fantastic read, especially the first several chapters that explain the discovery of uranium,culminating with the bombing of Japan. The Book goes on to cover the post WW two developments of the Atomic age. Very well written in laymens terms.

Reads like a gripping novel

This is a great story about a very special rock, uranium, which was formed by petrified foliage millions of years ago, and continues to breed a deadly form of energy. Tom Zoellner's factual book reads like a gripping novel. He breathes vigorous life into a saga that could have been a dry political and geological tale. His beautifully crafted story puts uranium into its complex context as a key protagonist on the world stage. Zoellner's reporting ranges from the Congo to Nazi Germany to the war in Iran, with vivid information at every turn. getAbstract found this meticulously researched book exceptionally interesting, and recommends it to anyone interested in discovering how society entered the atomic age and how it is muddling through.

FANTASTIC VOYAGE INTO THE AMAZING HISTORY OF URANIUM

I think that Tom Zoellner presented a fantastic, well written, account of uranium. The book dives into, in great detail, the vast history of uranium including: The element, The mineral, and possible future uses. I would highly recommend this book to anyone the is into physics and geology, as well as historians. I enjoyed reading this book very much. Thanks, Mark R. Hunsberger

Well travelled, well researched, and fascinating

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I have actually read this book, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. The focus of this book is on the history, not the science, of uranium (which should be obvious - it is a work of reportage, not science). Furthermore, the parts of the book that do deal with science are correct, clear, and concise; they are understandable to a lay reader but not boring -- the prose is poetic and beautiful in its description of uranium's structure, isotopes, and process of decay (ultimately winding up as lead). Now on to the important stuff: Zoellner presents the paradox of uranium with drama and art. From the front lines, Zoellner reports on the tragic and terrifying. He speaks directly with survivors of Soviet prison camps on the border of East Germany and the Czech Republic, where thousands of political prisoners were forced to mine uranium to fuel the arms race. These stories are heartbreaking, and for me, were a new revelation about the havor wreaked by the cold war. Zoellner travels into the heart of what is now the DRC, to visit Shinkolobwe, where the uranium for the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was mined. The discoveries he makes there are bone chilling (I won't give them away!) He also captures the intangible influence uranium has had on society - the paradox of salvation (clean energy) and damnation (mutually assured destruction); its integration into capitalism and stock markets; how its pursuit in Canada, the American West, and even Mongolia, resembles the goldrush and embodies American entrepreneurship and adventure. Despite the terrifying realities Zoellner reports, he is even-handed and does not set out to scare the reader. Thankfully, he also reports on the pithy and humorous -- including his own foibles while travelling the world. My primary criticism is the dearth of time spent discussing today's choices -- does America become a nuclear country, like France? How do we address the deadly remains of the Cold War? Who can we trust to make these decisions. In sum, Uranium is a fascinating read, a good book for history buffs, current events junkies, non-fiction lovers of all stripes, and even scientists.