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

by Tom Zoellner

2 of 5 stars 1 rating • 1 review • 1 shelved
Book cover for Uranium
Shelve It

Bookhype may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.

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 devastat­ing weapon at the end of World War II, and eventually a polluter, killer, excuse for war with Iraq, potential deliverer of Armageddon and a possible last defense against global warming-Uranium is the riveting story of the most powerful element on earth, and one which will shape our future, for better or worse.
  • ISBN10 0670020648
  • ISBN13 9780670020645
  • Publish Date 5 November 2009 (first published 4 March 2005)
  • Publish Status Transferred
  • Out of Print 27 August 2015
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
  • Imprint Viking Press Inc
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 337
  • Language English