The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

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Dava Sobel

The Elements of Marie Curie

How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

Dava Sobel

$34.99

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English

Fourth Estate
16 October 2024

Biography: science, technology & engineering; Nuclear medicine; Radiology; Mathematics & Sciences; Atomic & molecular physics

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Mme Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize twice, and in two different disciplines – physics and chemistry. This engaging book shows what she accomplished in the face of tradition, entrenched misogyny, occasional scandal, ill-health and through sheer persistence, combined with a stunning intellectual capacity for thorough research. She achieved many firsts in the scientific world and also generously mentored, taught and encouraged other brilliant women to follow in her path. Highly recommended! Lindy

Dava Sobel, acclaimed and bestselling author of Longitude, chronicles the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science – and the untold story of the young women who trained in her laboratory.

For decades Marie Curie was the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings, and despite constant illness she travelled far and wide to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. She is still the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields.

Her ingenuity extended far beyond the laboratory walls; grieving the death of her husband, Pierre, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne, devotedly raised two daughters, drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I, befriended Albert Einstein and inspired generations of young women to pursue science as a way of life.

Approaching Marie Curie from a unique angle, Sobel navigates her remarkable discoveries and fame alongside the women who became her legacy – from Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch and France’s Marguerite Perry, who discovered the element francium, to her own daughter, Irene, a Nobel Prize winner in her own right. The Elements of Marie Curie deftly illuminates the trailblazing life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time.

Praise:

‘A luminous and illuminating contribution to the cause’ Literary Review

‘A book for our times celebrating both science and women’ Sir Paul Nurse, geneticist and Nobel Prize winner

‘Hard to put down! A wonderfully written biography’ Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, astrophysicist

‘A lucid, literate biography, celebrating a scientific exemplar who, for all her fame, deserves to be better known’ Kirkus

By: Dava Sobel
Imprint: Fourth Estate
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9780008536923
ISBN 10: 0008536929
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 16 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Dava Sobel is the author of the international bestseller, Longitude, the bestselling Pulitzer Prize finalist Galileo's Daughter, The Planets, A More Perfect Heaven, And the Sun Stood Still, and The Glass Universe, and co-author of The Illustrated Longitude. She is the recipient of the Individual Public Service Award from the National Science Board, the Bradford Washburn Award, the Kumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors. A former New York Times science reporter and current editor of the ""Meter"" poetry column in Scientific American, she lives on Long Island."

Reviews for The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

Praise for The Elements of Marie Curie: 'Marie Skłodowska Curie was unique, but her influence irradiated the futures of 45 women who worked in her laboratory. By restoring these pioneers to visibility, acclaimed historian Dava Sobel casts fresh light on the life and achievements of the first scientist to win two Nobel prizes' Dr Patricia Fara, Emeritus Fellow, Clare College, University of Cambridge 'Hard to put down! A wonderfully written biography of Marie Curie, that does not step away from the physics but also includes her life outside the lab, even including the black and white cat!' Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, astrophysicist –- Praise for Dava Sobel: 'She has an extraordinary gift of making difficult ideas clear' Daily Telegraph 'If you like your science lyrical, Dava Sobel is the author for you’ Independent 'Sobel is an elegant stylist, a riveting and efficient storyteller, a writer who can bring the dustiest of subjects to full-blooded life' New York Times 'Sobel's enthusiasm for her subject is absolute and she succeeds in transmitting it to the reader, quite a feat when the subject matter can be so tricky to grasp' Sunday Telegraph 'Lively, inventive … a masterly specimen of close-range cultural history' Wall Street Journal