Short Synopsis
The fascinating story of the most powerful source of energy the earth can yield.

Full Synopsis
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.

"[Listeners] will be engaged by this story of the most powerful source of energy the earth can yield." ---Library Journal

"Serious and exciting" ---San Francisco Chronicle

"Narrator Patrick Lawlor applies just the right tone of aplomb to this examination of science and politics." ---AudioFile

"In this fine piece of journalism, Zoellner...superbly paints vivid pictures of uranium's impact." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"A rich journalistic account." ---Kirkus

Publishers Weekly Review