IN THE 1500s, Bohemian miners stumbled upon a mineral they called pitchblende, and deemed it worthless. It wasn’t until the start of the 20th century and the that the mysteries of this uranium-containing ore began to pique the interest of physicists.
In a book that is more history than science, traces uranium’s fingerprints across the ensuing 100 years, from the ultra-secrecy of the Manhattan project to nuclear power’s recent resurgence. Some might question his thesis that unlocking uranium’s secret was the most earth-shaking event of the 20th century, but they may have forgotten the cold war paranoia he so effectively recaptures.
Other memorable parts of the book are the macabre glee of a reporter who watched the Nagasaki bombing and Zoellner’s own trip to Niger to seek information on yellowcake uranium and the Iraq war. Some of his phrasing, such as a reference to “the angry atoms of U-235”, may be a little overheated, but it does provide strong, vivid images. At other times it is almost religious in tone, for example when he talks of the west’s fear of having “the original sin of Hiroshima rendered back to us in a burst of savage white light”.
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