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Chain Reactions: The Hopeful History of Uranium
Tracing uranium's past—and how it intersects with our understanding of other radioactive elements—Chain Reactions aims to enlighten readers and refresh our attitudes about the atomic world.Chain Reactions looks at the fascinating, often-forgotten stories that can be found throughout the history of uranium. From glassworks to penny stocks; from medicines to atomic weapons; from something to be feared to a powerful source of energy, this global history explores the scientific narrative of this unique element, but also shines a light on its cultural and social impact. By understanding our nuclear past, we can move beyond the ideological opposition to technologies and encourage a more nuanced dialogue about whether it is feasible—and desirable—to have a genuinely nuclear-powered future.
- GenresScienceNonfictionHistory
288 pages, Hardcover
Published November 5, 2024
5 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Jane Santos
5 books9 followersLucy Jane Santos is a writer, presenter and consultant who seeks out the surprising stories that sit at the edges of familiar history. Her work ranges across beauty, science, technology, popular entertainment and nightlife, uncovering fresh angles and new insights into the moments that have shaped the modern world.
This expertise has led to historical consulting roles for film and television and to on-screen contributions in documentaries as seemingly diverse as Makeup: A Glamorous History (BBC2) and Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America (Discovery +). Her research and commentary have also appeared in publications including History Today, BBC History Revealed, Vogue and the New York Post and in the London Transport Museum’s exhibition Art deco: the golden age of poster design.
She has been a judge for the Historical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown, the recipient of the Stephen Joseph Research Award and was the Non-Fiction Writer In Residence for the Stay-at-Home! International Literature Festival. She is a co-founder of the Art Deco Society UK and the Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network.
Lucy is the author of the critically acclaimed Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium and Chain Reactions: A Hopeful History of Uranium, which explore the unexpected ways radioactivity entered everyday life. Her forthcoming work, Nobody’s Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot, will be published in 2026 to coincide with global celebrations of Marilyn Monroe’s centenary, and uncovers the layered story behind one of Hollywood’s most iconic movies.
This expertise has led to historical consulting roles for film and television and to on-screen contributions in documentaries as seemingly diverse as Makeup: A Glamorous History (BBC2) and Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America (Discovery +). Her research and commentary have also appeared in publications including History Today, BBC History Revealed, Vogue and the New York Post and in the London Transport Museum’s exhibition Art deco: the golden age of poster design.
She has been a judge for the Historical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown, the recipient of the Stephen Joseph Research Award and was the Non-Fiction Writer In Residence for the Stay-at-Home! International Literature Festival. She is a co-founder of the Art Deco Society UK and the Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network.
Lucy is the author of the critically acclaimed Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium and Chain Reactions: A Hopeful History of Uranium, which explore the unexpected ways radioactivity entered everyday life. Her forthcoming work, Nobody’s Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot, will be published in 2026 to coincide with global celebrations of Marilyn Monroe’s centenary, and uncovers the layered story behind one of Hollywood’s most iconic movies.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 26, 2025
2.75 or so, rounded down, because it probably should be.
The pre-1945 stuff is Wikipedia-level on X-rays, Curie family, first fission, etc.
And there's an error or two.
First, the idea that Little Boy (Hiroshima) worked by firing a U235 “bullet” is the commonly used description, but it paints an inaccurate picture. What was actually fired was a short hollow pipe, if you will, that slid over a solid cylinder shaped like a AA/C/D battery, but certainly bigger. (Wiki photo) I did note Wikipedia level, and it uses the word "bullet" itself. I wish people would stop this. (Another way of looking at it is this is like a plastic splint for a broken finger being fired to slide over a finger.)
Side note: Everybody invents a “Little Boy” first to get in the nuclear weapons club, never tests it, then works on a Fat Man type bomb, which will need testing. That's also why Wiki won't show you a detailed picture of the guts of a Fat Man; it's far more classified.
Nevada Test Site is 65 miles NW, not SE, of Vegas. I suspect she just got directions flipped.
==
Post-war stuff up to Three Mile Island not bad, on cultural effects in US, etc., but nothing special. (Santos says purchasing some old uranium glass inspired her to write the book.) Santos says she's going to end there, but includes Chernobyl and Fukushima.
==
Per her subhead, "The Hopeful History," one can debate whether or not she puts too much a smiley face on the issue of storing long-term waste, and if so, how much too much of a smiley face.
There's no debate, from this person, though, about her sweeping questions about whether or not nuclear power is really that "green" under the rug. She does.
That big old concrete containment dome? Lots of carbon emissions with concrete in general. There's the emissions from mining uranium and such as well.
She also soft-pedals the issue of mine safety. Growing up in the US Southwest, I'm quite familiar with this. Elsewhere in the world it was worse, and will be in the future.
And yes, I know about natural radioactivity in coal, and what I get from bananas, etc. Ignoring the elision of anti-green angles? I said the start of the book was Wiki-like. The end comes off as nuke-industry PR-like.
The pre-1945 stuff is Wikipedia-level on X-rays, Curie family, first fission, etc.
And there's an error or two.
First, the idea that Little Boy (Hiroshima) worked by firing a U235 “bullet” is the commonly used description, but it paints an inaccurate picture. What was actually fired was a short hollow pipe, if you will, that slid over a solid cylinder shaped like a AA/C/D battery, but certainly bigger. (Wiki photo) I did note Wikipedia level, and it uses the word "bullet" itself. I wish people would stop this. (Another way of looking at it is this is like a plastic splint for a broken finger being fired to slide over a finger.)
Side note: Everybody invents a “Little Boy” first to get in the nuclear weapons club, never tests it, then works on a Fat Man type bomb, which will need testing. That's also why Wiki won't show you a detailed picture of the guts of a Fat Man; it's far more classified.
Nevada Test Site is 65 miles NW, not SE, of Vegas. I suspect she just got directions flipped.
==
Post-war stuff up to Three Mile Island not bad, on cultural effects in US, etc., but nothing special. (Santos says purchasing some old uranium glass inspired her to write the book.) Santos says she's going to end there, but includes Chernobyl and Fukushima.
==
Per her subhead, "The Hopeful History," one can debate whether or not she puts too much a smiley face on the issue of storing long-term waste, and if so, how much too much of a smiley face.
There's no debate, from this person, though, about her sweeping questions about whether or not nuclear power is really that "green" under the rug. She does.
That big old concrete containment dome? Lots of carbon emissions with concrete in general. There's the emissions from mining uranium and such as well.
She also soft-pedals the issue of mine safety. Growing up in the US Southwest, I'm quite familiar with this. Elsewhere in the world it was worse, and will be in the future.
And yes, I know about natural radioactivity in coal, and what I get from bananas, etc. Ignoring the elision of anti-green angles? I said the start of the book was Wiki-like. The end comes off as nuke-industry PR-like.
June 25, 2025
Discovery of element, Uranium 1789
Understanding of nuclear fission 1938
Manhattan Project 1942 June
Accumulation of critical amount of Uranium 235 1945 Feb
Trinity Nuclear bomb testing 1945 July
Use of first Nuclear bomb 1945 Aug (6th and 9th)
From understanding of fission and drop of the first bomb took 7 years.
Is this a power of human imagination and capability? or Is it the recipe for our own doom?
It gives me chills trying to imagine how much we understood about this before packing this fission power into a bomb. What other things (new renovations, new technology, new something) are we doing, just because we can? AI? Gene editing? what consequences these would bring?
Understanding of nuclear fission 1938
Manhattan Project 1942 June
Accumulation of critical amount of Uranium 235 1945 Feb
Trinity Nuclear bomb testing 1945 July
Use of first Nuclear bomb 1945 Aug (6th and 9th)
From understanding of fission and drop of the first bomb took 7 years.
Is this a power of human imagination and capability? or Is it the recipe for our own doom?
It gives me chills trying to imagine how much we understood about this before packing this fission power into a bomb. What other things (new renovations, new technology, new something) are we doing, just because we can? AI? Gene editing? what consequences these would bring?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews