Uranium

War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World

By: Tom Zoellner

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Uranium is a common element in the earth's crust and the only naturally occurring mineral with the power to end all life on the planet. After World War II, it reshaped the global order---whoever could master uranium could master the world. Marie Curie gave us hope that uranium would be a miracle panacea, but the Manhattan Project gave us reason to believe that civilization would end with apocalypse.

Slave labor camps in Africa and Eastern Europe were built around mine shafts, and America would knowingly send more than 600 uranium miners to their graves in the name of national security. Fortunes have been made from this yellow dirt; massive energy grids have been run from it. Fear of it panicked the American people into supporting a questionable war with Iraq, and its specter threatens to create another conflict in Iran. Now, some are hoping it can help avoid a global warming catastrophe.

In Uranium, Tom Zoellner takes readers around the globe in this intriguing look at the mineral that can sustain life or destroy it.

©2008 Tom Zoellner (P)2009 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A rich journalistic account." ( Kirkus)

Loved it!

The book was very informative and was excellent listening when driving in the car. It was well narrated which played a big part in it.

Amazing, Fast Paced..Well Done..

One of my best books of all time. Historic, Accurate, and keep you on the edge. I also bought a copy for my parents.. Very good audo, excellent voice.

Nonfiction as funny and gripping a great novel

I write reviews for less than 1-un-20 books I read; usually when I think the valuable experience I've receive is due praise; and that was the case here.

I have been around uranium all my life: uranium geology, nuclear power and weapons. I expected there would be limited technical information that I didn't know, but this book is, happily, full of uranium stories: histories and anecdotes of the colorful people who discovered, mined, tried to stop mining, and used uranium. The author visited all the key uranium locations and told the interesting and sometimes very exciting experiences he had in Shinkolobwe Congo, Nigeria, Georgia (the country - the primary exit for illicit Soviet enriched uranium), the Colorado Plateau, the Czech Republic and East Germany, Mongolia, etc. The author didn't just sit at his computer to write this (which could have been done) - he went all over the world to get firsthand accounts.
I liked the sketches and anecdotes of the interesting characters who lead the Uranium Boom in the 50s, who mined under the brutal Soviet/Eastern-European regimes, and who mine in Australia - full of funny stories and memorable situations. The book covers all of Uranium's timeline since discovery to discuss its future.
This book was entertaining and I looked forward to my commute to get back into it. I liked the reader too. Other reviewer's were highly critical of his applying accents to the different characters (German, Mongolian, Russian, Southwestern, Australian) and they added to the experience (I suspect that today there is high sensitivity to anyone attempting this. The reader was enthusiastic and natural and carried the authors emotions.

Well written and well read

I loved this comprehensive history of one of the most controversial mineral resources of all time. I knew bits and pieces but I enjoyed the thoroughness. Additionally, the reader did all the voices/accents and did them quite well.

Racist Narration

Absolutely ridiculous narration, it does not do justice to the people he is quoting nor does it add to the story. It was absolutely unnecessary to narrate in the manner he did. Unfortunately he does not do the story justice

Scientific and historical errors, good miner tales

I am unimpressed with it, but I did like the human stories of the prospectors and miners. I had to laugh when the author described the nucleus of the atom being held together with electrical force. Besides the errors in comparison to the information in the Oppenheimer biography (American Prometheus audio book), there are glaring deficiencies, such as the almost complete avoidance of the subject of disposing of uranium waste. It is a industry book seemingly written by a scientifically illiterate journalist.

Read terribly

I really wanted to hear about Uranium but i couldnt stand listening to the Narrator speak. It was a lecture, without any emotion or inflection.

Boring

Read well but boring. More political then technical. Couldn't wait til it was done.

disappointing

the book follows a narrative that uranium is bad and is the cause of great misfortune for humanity. I was hoping for a more nuanced story. I came here after reading Richard Rhodes' the making of the atom bomb, which is a far better book.

I was also very annoyed by the narrator's use of fake accents. It was unnecessary and distracting.