Radioactive

Book cover of Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout

Book description

A National Book Award finalist, the mesmerizing, landmark illustrated biography Radioactive is finally available in a stunning paperback edition. Through words and her own gorgeously crafted illustrations, artist and journalist Lauren Redniss tells the story of Marie Curie, nee Marya Sklodowska, and her working and romantic relationship with Pierre Curie,…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Radioactive as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Misha Maynerick Blaise

Author

I was blown away by this book; each page is a composition of ethereal cyanotype images, photos, X-rays, newspaper clippings, history, and science. Curie's discoveries had great benefits as well as terrible consequences for humanity.

This book made me think about the paradoxes of life and how we reckon with the powerful forces unleashed by science and technology in our rapidly changing world.

From Misha's list on connection with the mysterious wonders of life.

Teresa Iacobelli

Author

This book broke open all my ideas of what history writing can be. Beautiful and imaginative - Redniss’ work is unlike any other. It combines biography, archival and oral histories, and visual art to tell a story that skips through eras and topics, but is always rooted in the life of Marie Curie. While exploring the personal life of Curie, Redniss also writes a history of science and culture in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Honestly, words can not adequately describe this work, Radioactive must be picked up and savoured by the reader.

From Teresa's list on non-fiction and written by women.