Grand Obsession: Madame Curie and Her World - Hardcover

Pflaum, Rosalynd

3.8

20 ratings by Goodreads

9780385261357: Grand Obsession: Madame Curie and Her World

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385261357 ISBN 13: 9780385261357

Publisher: Doubleday, 1989

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Tells of the lives and revolutionary work of Curie and her husband Pierre, whose work with radiation had an enormous impact on modern physics, and whose legacy was carried on by their daughter and son-in-law

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From Library Journal:

Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, received the Nobel Prize in 1903 for their work on radioactivity, which included the discovery of radium and polonium. In 1911, Marie Curie received a second Nobel Prize for her preparation of pure radium, and in 1935, their daughter, Irene, and her husband, Frederick Joliot, received the Nobel Prize for their synthesis of new radioelements. This family's work in radiation was indeed a "grand obsession," spanning the transition of physics from its classical state into the high-tech, nuclear science of the 1940s and 1950s. The author has handled the personalities of the book with tact and fairness--particularly regarding Joliot's role in the French resistance and his post-World War II Communist activities and the Marie Curie-Paul Langevin affair, which caused such a scandal in 1911. But more impressive is Pflaum's ability to clearly and easily explain the wide-ranging technical aspects of the work done by this talented, ever-driven family, all of whom suffered from severe health problems that might have incapacitated the average person. A fascinating biography.
- Hilary D. Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

The Curie family produced two generations of scientists whose legacy, the discovery of radium and radioactivity, changed the world. Pflaum ( Mme. de Stael ) chronicles the Curies' tenacious and bone-wearying research efforts. While the technical descriptions of the Curies' experiments and theories are often tedious, Pflaum's detailed examination of the driven natures of Marie and Pierre Curie, their daughter Irene and son-in-law Fred Joliot is convincing. Oblivious or indifferent to the dangers of direct contact with radium, the Curies and their co-workers were chronically ill with ailments that now would be attributed to radiation poisoning. While the Curies and their children do not emerge as particularly warm or colorful, Pflaum makes clear how their "grand obsession" with research produced findings central to modern atomic science. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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