BOOK REVIEW: HALF LIVES BY LUCY JANE SANTOS

S P O N S O R E D  :  B O O K  S E N T  B Y  P U B L I S H E R

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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Title: Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium
Author: Lucy Jane Santos
Published: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 336
Rating: 3/5

Summary:

Radium has a fascinating history. Discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it became the focus of fascination both among scientists and the public, and was for a long time considered a miracle substance, used by both medical professionals and business people, often with devastating consequences. 

Review:
This was quite an interesting book.

I think the history of radium is fascinating, and this dives right into all of it, which I very much enjoyed and I feel like I learned quite a lot. This touches on all aspects of the substance, from its discovery to its use in every day products and the belief that it could cure just about everything, to the realisation that its use was doing more harm than good.

Now, although I quite liked this, it wasn't the kind of nonfiction book that really pulled me in. I felt like the chapters were quite long and dragged a bit sometimes, and I feel that maybe overall, this could've been shortened some. I did really like that it does a good job of explaining the science of it all though, so it was easy to understand, even for someone like me who doesn't know a whole lot about that field.

Overall, quite a good book and perfect if you're interested in radium and want to learn more about its history. 

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