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    Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World
    Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World
    Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World
    Audiobook12 hours

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

    Written by Tom Zoellner

    Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Uranium is a common element in the earth's crust and the only naturally occurring mineral with the power to end all life on the planet. After World War II, it reshaped the global order-whoever could master uranium could master the world.

    Marie Curie gave us hope that uranium would be a miracle panacea, but the Manhattan Project gave us reason to believe that civilization would end with apocalypse. Slave labor camps in Africa and Eastern Europe were built around mine shafts, and America would knowingly send more than 600 uranium miners to their graves in the name of national security.

    Fortunes have been made from this yellow dirt; massive energy grids have been run from it. Fear of it panicked the American people into supporting a questionable war with Iraq, and its specter threatens to create another conflict in Iran. Now, some are hoping it can help avoid a global warming catastrophe.

    In Uranium, Tom Zoellner takes readers around the globe in this intriguing look at the mineral that can sustain life or destroy it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 20, 2009
    ISBN9781400180325
    Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World
    Author

    Tom Zoellner

    Tom Zoellner is an award-winning magazine and newspaper journalist. He is a contributing editor for Men's Health magazine and has worked as a Metro reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, The Salt Lake Tribune and The Arizona Republic. He was the 2002 recipient of the Knight Fellowship in Specialized Reporting. He lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for Uranium

    4.5/5

    17 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      There was an astounding uranium rush in the 50's and 60's in this country and Czechoslovakia. The largest uranium mine on the planet is in the middle of an Australian national park. It's really very easy to get uranium ore, the problem is refining (enriching) it.
    • 4/5
      This book talks of the history and a bit of science behind uranium, as well as the social and economic impacts uranium can have on different populations. Very interesting read.
    • 4/5
      Very informative book that covered the history, uses, and present status of uranium. Some of the information seemed on the borderline of classified. It is also concerning that there is such a significant amount of enriched u-235, which is sometimes not well guarded or accounted for. I recommend the book for a better understanding of our current status and how we got here.
    • 4/5
      This was an interesting review of the history of man's journey with a very peculiar rock. Fairly well written, though, at times, the author seemed to get a bit far afield of the topic.
    • 4/5
      This book is good, however, it kind of skips around a bit. It talks of the history and a bit of science behind uranium, as well as the social and economic impacts uranium can have on different populations. Very interesting read.
    • 4/5
      This book is surprisingly light on the science of uranium or radioactivity, covering the necessary basics as quickly as possible with the help of a few uninspired metaphors. I found that a little disappointing, although I suspect that for many readers it's likely to be a point in favor. Mostly it covers the global political and economic impact of uranium, and of the bombs and power plants it's used for. The result is a little unfocused, drifting around from topic to topic, and there are certainly better and more thorough treatments of subjects like the the Manhattan Project. But it does also cover a lot of ground that was both interesting and new to me, including considerable (and often rather shocking) details about uranium mining, which ultimately made it a worthwhile read.