Romancing the Atom: Nuclear Infatuation from the Radium Girls to Fukushima
A cautionary tale of a power we don't fully understand. - Jeanette Walls, The Glass CastleAll the wonder, paranoia, and color of a 1940s comic book. - Andrew Leland, The BelieverShows us what the morning after looks like. - Tom Zoellner, Uranium A marvel of highly entertaining narrative style. - Bill Geerhart, CONELRAD.com• Tells the history of atomic development through energetic nonfiction vignettes and original interviews that will appeal to a wide audience, including young adults• Argues that the current impetus in the United States to develop nuclear power plants as a "green technology" is flawed given our current knowledge of the hazards of atomic development• Documents the rampant disregard atomic developers have had for indigenous cultures all over the globe• Clearly illustrates many health and environmental impacts of atomic development and offers suggestions for how citizens can confront continued atomic expansion• Contains original materials selected for publication in two national journals• Draws from top-secret government and military documents from the history of atomic development, archival documents from the Library of Congress, and letters from Albert Einstein and other prominent scientists during the 1950s and 1960s• Presents chronological histories of events such as the displacement and relocation of the Bikini Islanders, uranium mines on Native American lands, and the cleanup of a secret uranium milling facility in a residential neighborhood in Oxford, Ohio• Contains various maps including radioactive cleanup sites in the United States and other parts of the world• Includes many photographs and illustrations that accompany the text• Provides a bibliography containing a significant collection of books, magazine articles, newspaper reports, movies, comics, government documents, and other related archival materials"Johnson's familiar tone will make readers feel like he's in the room with them, telling a story about these (sometimes horrifying) events. . . . This book will interest readers who love the history of science, especially 20th-century, military, or weapons history buffs."-Library Journal"Romancing the Atom is not just a book about the shabby secrets of the atomic age, it also proposes a key for springing the lock on what has made all this possible. . . . Johnson's treatment is crisp and finely detailed. It offers a unique perspective . . . a jewel in plain sight."-Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe New Mexican