The name Marie Curie is enshrined in every schoolchild's mind as one of the earliest and most inspirational female pioneers in the history of science. Yet the rich, vivid, and romantic story of Marya Salome Sklodwska - the young Polish national who discovered radioactivity - has been lost to time ...until now, in the pages of this stunning, wildly creative, and uniquely moving visual biography by one of the most creative artistic talents working today. Lauren Redniss, a celebrated "New York Times" illustrator and storyteller, has thrown herself deeply and passionately into researching the story of the real Marie Curie; of her passionate and tragic romantic life; and, of the century of scientific innovation and controversy that sprang from her discovery of radium and went on to change the course of world history. Drawing on her original archival research in Europe and the United States - and a host of new interviews with Curie family members and scientists who carry on the Curie tradition - Redniss has created a fascinating and deeply moving book. A visually stunning work of illustrative art, "Radioactive" walks the reader through the story of Curie's own life, which was marked by both extraordinary scientific discovery and dramatic personal trauma - from her romantic partnership with Pierre, through his tragic decline from radium poisoning and death in a traffic accident, to the scandalous affair with another fellow scientist that almost cost her second Nobel Prize. But it also casts an eye forward, to survey the changes wrought by Curie's discovery of radioactivity-illuminating the path from the Curie laboratory past the bright red mushroom clouds in the Nevada desert through Three Mile Island and the advance in radiation therapy and nuclear power today. Whether young or old, scientific novice or expert, no one will fail to be moved by Lauren Redniss' eerie and wondrous evocation of one of history's most intriguing figures.
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"[Radioactive is] a deeply unusual and forceful thing to have in your hands. Ms. Redniss's text is long, literate and supple...Her drawings are both vivid and ethereal...Radioactive is serious science and brisk storytelling. The word 'luminous' is a critic's clich?, to be avoided at all costs, but it fits."--New York Times
About the Author
Lauren Redniss is the author of Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies. A graduate of Brown University and the School of Visual Arts, she is a frequent contributor to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times, which nominated her work for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2008-2009 she was a selected as a Fellow at the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, where she completed her work on Radioactive. She teaches at the Parsons School of Design and lives in New York City.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow! If you want a justification for the continued existence of the paper book, you'd be hard-pressed to beat this. A combination of art, colour and creatively-imagined biography mean you imbibe the story of Marie and Pierre Curie and the world they made rather than feeling it forced on you. The only complaint: it's over in a flash (forgive the pun), and you'll want to read more.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By S. Moore
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is not an ordinary biography ,more an evocation of a thoroughly biographed subject.
The author uses artistic techniques and images to present the Curies and their work and follows several strands of inquiry and thought,including the consequences of their work. There are some very striking and unusual correlations too.For example the fact that Pierre was born on the Rue Cuvier,named after the man who believed evolution to have advanced by catastrophes.lauren Redniss remarks that Pierre Curie's death was itself a kind of catastrophe.She might have mentioned that on the day of his fatal accident San Francisco was also struck by a terrible earthquake.'
She does not duck the Curies' interest in spiritualism either ,or the fact of the 'Mmerry Widow ' health mine in the US.
The last part of Marie's life may be a little sparsely treated and Frederick Joliot hardly figures.The cartoon picture of Irene however catches her gaze perfectly.
If you know what you are not expecting with this book ,(viz.an orthodox biography),it is excellent .
The author uses artistic techniques and images to present the Curies and their work and follows several strands of inquiry and thought,including the consequences of their work. There are some very striking and unusual correlations too.For example the fact that Pierre was born on the Rue Cuvier,named after the man who believed evolution to have advanced by catastrophes.lauren Redniss remarks that Pierre Curie's death was itself a kind of catastrophe.She might have mentioned that on the day of his fatal accident San Francisco was also struck by a terrible earthquake.'
She does not duck the Curies' interest in spiritualism either ,or the fact of the 'Mmerry Widow ' health mine in the US.
The last part of Marie's life may be a little sparsely treated and Frederick Joliot hardly figures.The cartoon picture of Irene however catches her gaze perfectly.
If you know what you are not expecting with this book ,(viz.an orthodox biography),it is excellent .
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, 'This one came out first.' Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, 'How did you break through? This breach be upon you!' Therefore his name was called Perez." -- Genesis 38:28-29 (NKJV)
Radioactive is one of those rare books that capture a difficult subject well through an unusual approach. In this case, Ms. Lauren Redniss alternates charming drawings with chilling implications from scientific research into radioactivity . . . and painful personal details about the lives of Marie and Pierre Curie.
Some people have likened scientific work on radioactivity to opening Pandora's Box: Evils flew out, but hope remained. Radioactive captures that ambivalence very nicely so that youngsters can appreciate the difficulties and questions associated with new knowledge.
Marie Curie didn't want to be assessed for her private life . . . and with good reason, as this book demonstrates. Ms. Redniss does a nice job of pointing out that many people have skeletons in their closets . . . including those who condemn others or who are upheld as paragons of public virtue.
If you are a parent or a grandparent, I suggest you read the book before presenting it to a youngster. This book is for older, more mature young people.
Brava, Ms. Redniss!
Radioactive is one of those rare books that capture a difficult subject well through an unusual approach. In this case, Ms. Lauren Redniss alternates charming drawings with chilling implications from scientific research into radioactivity . . . and painful personal details about the lives of Marie and Pierre Curie.
Some people have likened scientific work on radioactivity to opening Pandora's Box: Evils flew out, but hope remained. Radioactive captures that ambivalence very nicely so that youngsters can appreciate the difficulties and questions associated with new knowledge.
Marie Curie didn't want to be assessed for her private life . . . and with good reason, as this book demonstrates. Ms. Redniss does a nice job of pointing out that many people have skeletons in their closets . . . including those who condemn others or who are upheld as paragons of public virtue.
If you are a parent or a grandparent, I suggest you read the book before presenting it to a youngster. This book is for older, more mature young people.
Brava, Ms. Redniss!
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