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Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium
The surprising history of radium in everyday life.
The discovery of radium in the late 19th century prompted a flurry of experiments to scope the limits of its potential applications.
Half Lives tells the fascinating, curious, sometimes macabre story of the element through its ascendance as a desirable item – a present for a queen, a prize in a treasure hunt, a glow-in-the-dark dance costume, a boon to the housewife, and an ingredient in a startling host of consumer products – to its role as a cure-all in everyday 20th-century life.
Finally, it details the gradual downfall and discredit of the radium industry through the eyes of the people who bought, sold and eventually came to fear it.
Half Lives is an enjoyable journey into the odd areas where science and consumerism meet, telling the tale of the entrepreneurs and consumers in radium’s history who have until now been considered quacks, or fools, or both.
The discovery of radium in the late 19th century prompted a flurry of experiments to scope the limits of its potential applications.
Half Lives tells the fascinating, curious, sometimes macabre story of the element through its ascendance as a desirable item – a present for a queen, a prize in a treasure hunt, a glow-in-the-dark dance costume, a boon to the housewife, and an ingredient in a startling host of consumer products – to its role as a cure-all in everyday 20th-century life.
Finally, it details the gradual downfall and discredit of the radium industry through the eyes of the people who bought, sold and eventually came to fear it.
Half Lives is an enjoyable journey into the odd areas where science and consumerism meet, telling the tale of the entrepreneurs and consumers in radium’s history who have until now been considered quacks, or fools, or both.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2020
47 people are currently reading
801 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 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 15, 2022
I've read Radium Girls sometime before this and they complimented each other wonderfully. Where radium girls focuses on well the radium girls and the factory where they worked this one focused in radium as a whole. It was interesting to listen how high valued radium was when it came to fame and how people wanted in in anything and everything and how horrendous conscience it had on society and people it hurt. Never got boring or too info dumpy
June 24, 2022
Radium, in all its many forms and incarnations, can be dangerous AF. We know this now, but “back in the day” it was used in dermatology, homeopathy, cosmetics, wristwatches, architecture, and even high fashion. And its value wasn’t strictly utilitarian; the possession of a few micrograms of radium in a tiny vial was, in fact, high social currency.
Good science writers are able to make complex topics enjoyable and accessible to laypersons (like me) without resorting to the tactics of condescension or misrepresentation. Lucy Jane Santos makes it look easy. She shuttles her readers through the storied history of radium, from its discovery in 1902 to its current use in medical therapies, by artfully braiding physics and chemistry with colorful biographical snippets of the personalities involved. This is a weird, sometimes tragic, always fascinating chronology.
Good science writers are able to make complex topics enjoyable and accessible to laypersons (like me) without resorting to the tactics of condescension or misrepresentation. Lucy Jane Santos makes it look easy. She shuttles her readers through the storied history of radium, from its discovery in 1902 to its current use in medical therapies, by artfully braiding physics and chemistry with colorful biographical snippets of the personalities involved. This is a weird, sometimes tragic, always fascinating chronology.
August 26, 2021
Interesting!
December 2, 2021
In Half Lives, Lucy Jane Santos looks at the history of human interaction with the world's most radioactive natural substance, radium. The story begins with the initial discovery of the element and all the curiosity and caution surrounding it in the early days.
After that, we move into the now shocking period of time when people couldn't get enough radium. Because of its ability to emit light, things containing radium were called "liquid sunshine" and were purported to have healing properties; Spas claimed their baths were radioactive to attract more patrons. Radium was said to be added to certain medicines in order to make them more effective, and when many did not contain the very rare and very expensive substance, the makers were accused of false advertising (how dare you not irradiate me?!). It could reportedly do everything from bring back the pigment in your hair to make your watch glow in the dark. A wonder substance! Except for the fact that it will - for sure - wreak havoc inside your body, kill you, and make your body radioactive for generations to come.
This is a very interesting history of the evolution of our attitudes toward radium, but to say this is strictly a history of radium itself (as they subtitle does) wouldn't be entirely correct. I would say this is much more a look at the commercial uses of radium before the world knew precisely how dangerous a substance it is. The author chronicles this history without judgement; It's easy now to be horrified by the uses for radium in everyday life, but before it was known to rip the human body apart, people were optimistic about this new scientific discovery. They didn't know any better, and many sadly suffered the consequences, sometimes immediately, other times years later.
It's a well-handled and informative read, but a little too narrowly focused for me to recommend it widely.
After that, we move into the now shocking period of time when people couldn't get enough radium. Because of its ability to emit light, things containing radium were called "liquid sunshine" and were purported to have healing properties; Spas claimed their baths were radioactive to attract more patrons. Radium was said to be added to certain medicines in order to make them more effective, and when many did not contain the very rare and very expensive substance, the makers were accused of false advertising (how dare you not irradiate me?!). It could reportedly do everything from bring back the pigment in your hair to make your watch glow in the dark. A wonder substance! Except for the fact that it will - for sure - wreak havoc inside your body, kill you, and make your body radioactive for generations to come.
This is a very interesting history of the evolution of our attitudes toward radium, but to say this is strictly a history of radium itself (as they subtitle does) wouldn't be entirely correct. I would say this is much more a look at the commercial uses of radium before the world knew precisely how dangerous a substance it is. The author chronicles this history without judgement; It's easy now to be horrified by the uses for radium in everyday life, but before it was known to rip the human body apart, people were optimistic about this new scientific discovery. They didn't know any better, and many sadly suffered the consequences, sometimes immediately, other times years later.
It's a well-handled and informative read, but a little too narrowly focused for me to recommend it widely.
July 6, 2020
The story of radium's rise and fall as a glamorous substance for everything from health and beauty to glow-in-the-dark watch dials is a fascinating one, and Lucy Jane Santos explores it with clear enthusiasm for the topic.
Although radium is the main theme, there are a number of X-ray based stories woven in through the book, plus a relatively small amount of non-radium radioactivity coverage, including a rapid run through the development of nuclear weapons. But it is radium that is the star. Inevitably Marie Curie (or Marie Sklodowska Curie as Santos usually refers to her), plays a significant part, although we don't get a huge amount of detail of Curie's biography (though this has been covered in many other books), primarily focusing on her work on radium and X-rays.
We then see radium being taken up by both the medical profession and by quack producers of patent medicines with equal verve as a near-magic cure-all for everything from arthritis to cancer. What comes through very strongly here is the lack of scientific basis for medicine in the early decades of the 20th century - the use of radium medically seemed almost as haphazard and random as in the quack products, and while the dangers of radioactive materials was realised relatively early on, there seems to have been a disconnect in the minds of the medical profession (and the public) that made it difficult for the risks to shine through until things became quite dire.
We also see the association of radioactivity and radium with spas - I hadn't realised that many of the old spas, including Bath and Buxton in the UK, have mildly radioactive water and where these days they are more likely to keep quiet about it, back in the radium heyday they made a big thing of their radioactive water. Similarly, now we're to radon gas being considered a hazard in homes built in granite-based areas such as Cornwall - back then, inhaling radon was also a big thing in the spas.
When we get onto the commercial exploitation of radium, which Santos covers in depth, there was an impressive range of products, some just picking up on the trendy aspect of the word without having any radium present (presumably in the same way we can now buy a dishwasher tablet called Quantum). Others, though, did incorporate radium salts. One of the more amazing revelations was that the UK high street chemist Boots sold large quantities of Sparklets soda syphon cartridges branded as 'Spa Radium' which were intended to irradiate the water in the syphon. The stories of the radium girls who suffered because they licked their radium paint brushes to make points to paint the hands of watches, developing devastating radiation damage as a result, is relatively well known, but many of the other commercial uses have now been forgotten: Santos brings them vividly to life. Although it's not actually radium, I was still shocked to discover that the glow-in-the-dark dial of the 1960s trimphone I had by my teenage bedside was powered by radioactive tritium.
Sometimes the enthusiasm Santos has for the subject can be a slight problem as we simply get too much detail of specific products or companies whose business was driven by radium and their rise and fall. And I wasn't entirely sure about the claim in the blurb that this 'complex area of science history is so often mistold' - apart from being able to dismiss the widely-held belief that Marie Curie died as a result of her handling of radium (it was apparently over-exposure to X-rays), there didn't seem too much here that differed from the usual telling. But this remains an engaging and definitive history of the medical and commercial deployment of this dangerous but beguiling element.
Although radium is the main theme, there are a number of X-ray based stories woven in through the book, plus a relatively small amount of non-radium radioactivity coverage, including a rapid run through the development of nuclear weapons. But it is radium that is the star. Inevitably Marie Curie (or Marie Sklodowska Curie as Santos usually refers to her), plays a significant part, although we don't get a huge amount of detail of Curie's biography (though this has been covered in many other books), primarily focusing on her work on radium and X-rays.
We then see radium being taken up by both the medical profession and by quack producers of patent medicines with equal verve as a near-magic cure-all for everything from arthritis to cancer. What comes through very strongly here is the lack of scientific basis for medicine in the early decades of the 20th century - the use of radium medically seemed almost as haphazard and random as in the quack products, and while the dangers of radioactive materials was realised relatively early on, there seems to have been a disconnect in the minds of the medical profession (and the public) that made it difficult for the risks to shine through until things became quite dire.
We also see the association of radioactivity and radium with spas - I hadn't realised that many of the old spas, including Bath and Buxton in the UK, have mildly radioactive water and where these days they are more likely to keep quiet about it, back in the radium heyday they made a big thing of their radioactive water. Similarly, now we're to radon gas being considered a hazard in homes built in granite-based areas such as Cornwall - back then, inhaling radon was also a big thing in the spas.
When we get onto the commercial exploitation of radium, which Santos covers in depth, there was an impressive range of products, some just picking up on the trendy aspect of the word without having any radium present (presumably in the same way we can now buy a dishwasher tablet called Quantum). Others, though, did incorporate radium salts. One of the more amazing revelations was that the UK high street chemist Boots sold large quantities of Sparklets soda syphon cartridges branded as 'Spa Radium' which were intended to irradiate the water in the syphon. The stories of the radium girls who suffered because they licked their radium paint brushes to make points to paint the hands of watches, developing devastating radiation damage as a result, is relatively well known, but many of the other commercial uses have now been forgotten: Santos brings them vividly to life. Although it's not actually radium, I was still shocked to discover that the glow-in-the-dark dial of the 1960s trimphone I had by my teenage bedside was powered by radioactive tritium.
Sometimes the enthusiasm Santos has for the subject can be a slight problem as we simply get too much detail of specific products or companies whose business was driven by radium and their rise and fall. And I wasn't entirely sure about the claim in the blurb that this 'complex area of science history is so often mistold' - apart from being able to dismiss the widely-held belief that Marie Curie died as a result of her handling of radium (it was apparently over-exposure to X-rays), there didn't seem too much here that differed from the usual telling. But this remains an engaging and definitive history of the medical and commercial deployment of this dangerous but beguiling element.
October 12, 2021
3.5 - 4 Stars
A history of radium from the time of its discovery all the way through the invention of the atomic bomb. Surprisingly, there are many that still believe in mild radiation therapy to this day, and you can still find products with low level radiation.
A very interesting look at radium and the many facets of life that it spread through. Although, if you’re looking for something about the Radium Girls, there is only a small reference to them in this book. If you’re specifically looking for something about those women, I would highly recommend The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. If you’re looking for information about the discovery of radium and how it was tested, adapted, and put into the consumer realm, this is definitely a good read.
Received via Edelweiss
A history of radium from the time of its discovery all the way through the invention of the atomic bomb. Surprisingly, there are many that still believe in mild radiation therapy to this day, and you can still find products with low level radiation.
A very interesting look at radium and the many facets of life that it spread through. Although, if you’re looking for something about the Radium Girls, there is only a small reference to them in this book. If you’re specifically looking for something about those women, I would highly recommend The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. If you’re looking for information about the discovery of radium and how it was tested, adapted, and put into the consumer realm, this is definitely a good read.
Received via Edelweiss
June 24, 2020
Half Lives is an interesting, pacy social history about the discovery, uses and marketing of the radioactive element radium. I was fascinated to read about the changes in attitude to the element, from a wonder drug of “bottled sunshine” to be applied in and on to the body in all ways, to a dangerous destructive force to be treated with extreme caution.
I particularly enjoyed the early years where radium was so expensive that having some in your product was a mark of exclusivity and wealth display. People were concerned that the product might not contain as much radium as promised, rather than being worried about the danger of exposing themselves to radiation damage.
A well researched and engaging social history book - a glowing recommendation here!
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.
I particularly enjoyed the early years where radium was so expensive that having some in your product was a mark of exclusivity and wealth display. People were concerned that the product might not contain as much radium as promised, rather than being worried about the danger of exposing themselves to radiation damage.
A well researched and engaging social history book - a glowing recommendation here!
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.
March 13, 2022
3.5 Stars
It’s sure been easy to look back at medical practices of yesteryear and be all judgey about it. Why the bloodletting? Why the various weird tinctures and random ceremonies that seemed to hurt more than help? Even within recent history some of the medical practices seem very scary. We’ve been somewhat humbled with COVID, though, bringing to light how much we can be thrown to our knees when a plague comes that we know very little about and have to learn on the fly. In this book, Lucy Jane Santos brings to light (bright radium light) the very recent (disturbingly recent) history of radium and how it was discovered and used in everyday life.
We all know what radium is, and we’re all probably pretty aware that we shouldn’t be hanging out with radium in high doses just randomly. Well, this wasn’t always the belief. Santos takes us through an epic journey of how it was discovered, what the scientists did with it, and discusses the things that it was used for in popular culture. I love that Marie Curie was involved in this, by the way. I just think she is the coolest. Reading this book gave me a lot of new information about her, her husband, and even some information about her children, which I’m not sure I had heard about before.
There are many things I really liked about this book. First of all, it was accessible reading. I like to learn about things, but I don’t like to be made to feel dumb when I do. I like to be able to understand the vernacular and what is going on, and I like the reading to be engaging. If I want to learn science, I want to be able to learn science in a way that helps me understand it without so much effort that it’s no longer enjoyable. I believe Santos does a good job of this. She has a witty, conversational way of writing, and it made for enjoyable reading. This book was also well-researched. The information was condensed in a way that made it feel like we were getting the info minus the librarian of information that Santos has pared down for us. The topic, of course, was also interesting. I was thinking that this might be a way to start a cool series—a book about each element and its discovery, uses, etc. Some would obviously be more exciting than others, but it could be fun! Lucy Jane Santos, you should do this!
A few things that weren’t my favorite—I would have liked more information about radium in the states. Santos tells us straight up that this is mostly about radium in the United Kingdom, but there was quite a bit of discussion about things going on with the United States as well. I don’t know how much more extensive and long that would have made the book, but it’s not a super long book so maybe that could have happened. Also, it felt really condensed. Like I said, it isn’t a very long book, and it felt like there was a lot more about radium that maybe we didn’t hear. For instance, I would have liked some more discussion about its uses today (especially if they’re disturbing!), but also some discussion about why it was so shocking that people were using radium how they did. I just think there was either a lot cut out by editors, or a lot that Santos thought we didn’t want to know. That being said, I did like the length, and I did like that it was a quick and dirty read that was also interesting and engaging.
If you’re into sciencey things, or even just feel like you need to beef up your knowledge reading with non-fiction things, I think this would be a great read for you. It’s easy to read, it’s accessible, and well-researched and interesting.
Read my full review here: https://www.readingforsanity.com/2022...
It’s sure been easy to look back at medical practices of yesteryear and be all judgey about it. Why the bloodletting? Why the various weird tinctures and random ceremonies that seemed to hurt more than help? Even within recent history some of the medical practices seem very scary. We’ve been somewhat humbled with COVID, though, bringing to light how much we can be thrown to our knees when a plague comes that we know very little about and have to learn on the fly. In this book, Lucy Jane Santos brings to light (bright radium light) the very recent (disturbingly recent) history of radium and how it was discovered and used in everyday life.
We all know what radium is, and we’re all probably pretty aware that we shouldn’t be hanging out with radium in high doses just randomly. Well, this wasn’t always the belief. Santos takes us through an epic journey of how it was discovered, what the scientists did with it, and discusses the things that it was used for in popular culture. I love that Marie Curie was involved in this, by the way. I just think she is the coolest. Reading this book gave me a lot of new information about her, her husband, and even some information about her children, which I’m not sure I had heard about before.
There are many things I really liked about this book. First of all, it was accessible reading. I like to learn about things, but I don’t like to be made to feel dumb when I do. I like to be able to understand the vernacular and what is going on, and I like the reading to be engaging. If I want to learn science, I want to be able to learn science in a way that helps me understand it without so much effort that it’s no longer enjoyable. I believe Santos does a good job of this. She has a witty, conversational way of writing, and it made for enjoyable reading. This book was also well-researched. The information was condensed in a way that made it feel like we were getting the info minus the librarian of information that Santos has pared down for us. The topic, of course, was also interesting. I was thinking that this might be a way to start a cool series—a book about each element and its discovery, uses, etc. Some would obviously be more exciting than others, but it could be fun! Lucy Jane Santos, you should do this!
A few things that weren’t my favorite—I would have liked more information about radium in the states. Santos tells us straight up that this is mostly about radium in the United Kingdom, but there was quite a bit of discussion about things going on with the United States as well. I don’t know how much more extensive and long that would have made the book, but it’s not a super long book so maybe that could have happened. Also, it felt really condensed. Like I said, it isn’t a very long book, and it felt like there was a lot more about radium that maybe we didn’t hear. For instance, I would have liked some more discussion about its uses today (especially if they’re disturbing!), but also some discussion about why it was so shocking that people were using radium how they did. I just think there was either a lot cut out by editors, or a lot that Santos thought we didn’t want to know. That being said, I did like the length, and I did like that it was a quick and dirty read that was also interesting and engaging.
If you’re into sciencey things, or even just feel like you need to beef up your knowledge reading with non-fiction things, I think this would be a great read for you. It’s easy to read, it’s accessible, and well-researched and interesting.
Read my full review here: https://www.readingforsanity.com/2022...
February 27, 2022
A 2021 Christmas gift from my daughter. An amusing fast-paced read on the history of radium, radon, and X-rays in science and medicine, but quite a lot as a commodity in cosmetics, food and patent medicine. Takes place in late 19th century Europe through the 1930s. Kind of a drag in the middle of the book -so many facts!!- but it did get me to thinking whether we aren't still so gullible about the advertised benefits of commercial products.
November 8, 2023
3.5 stars: this is an incredibly interesting topic but the book felt a bit like it suffered from not having as coherent a narrative as it might. There was also quite a bit of time devoted to x-rays which, while related, aren’t radium.
July 8, 2021
This was an interesting look into Radium and related chemical elements such as uranium. The book flip flops between too complicated for me to understand to very basic explanations. I think a specific education level should have been picked and then stuck to. However I understood the majority of it (I only have high school education) and learned quite a bit.
When I told my husband about this book he told me about Radium Girls and so I expected to read about it in the book. I was surprised that they weren’t mentioned till near the end of the book and not as much as I expected. The book is more about how Radium was used and less about the side effects or results of using it.
While the book was interesting, I feel like it was too long. It seemed like some things were gone over many more times than was needed and the book could have been 300 pages instead of 400 easily. If you are into chemistry you will definitely find this book interesting. If not though, it will probably be to scientific for you.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I told my husband about this book he told me about Radium Girls and so I expected to read about it in the book. I was surprised that they weren’t mentioned till near the end of the book and not as much as I expected. The book is more about how Radium was used and less about the side effects or results of using it.
While the book was interesting, I feel like it was too long. It seemed like some things were gone over many more times than was needed and the book could have been 300 pages instead of 400 easily. If you are into chemistry you will definitely find this book interesting. If not though, it will probably be to scientific for you.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 19, 2024
This was such a fabulous and informative read. I was fascinated from start to finish. I hope Santos will write more books in the future. I really enjoyed her voice and how she disseminated the abundance of information.
February 10, 2023
Not overly interesting. I've enjoyed other books about Radium much more.
December 14, 2023
There was some really fascinating information in here,however it was delivered on a dry fashion.
December 30, 2021
This book had so much potential but it really fell short of my expectations. I love going down a rabbit hole, deep diving into a specific topic. I watched the incrdible series on Netflix called Chernobyl. This lead me to various books and research. I recently read Bill Bryson's The Body and he mentions this book Half Lives by Lucy Jane, so I dived into it. I think the title is misleading, the book is not about the deaths and lives of people killed by radium but more about the false marketing behind Radium since its discovery. Its facinating to see how Radium was believed to cure so many disease and instill youth. It was added to so many cosmetic products and sent by mail to so many house. 😱 That is indeed shocking and the over arching message is to really invesitgate a product before you simply just buy it. But other than that I am off to read Radium Girls now by Kate Moore.
March 6, 2025
I was initially very excited to read this book. The content is something I've always been fascinated with (radioactivity, an extension of my interest in all things nuclear). The first two chapters were enjoyable, but while the content was interesting the way in which it was delivered made it hard for me to keep reading. The long run-on sentences made it hard to follow what the author was getting at. Other times it felt like the book would go on slightly un/related tangents before getting back to the point. This tended to take me out of my focus and I would have to restart the paragraph all over again. However, this could also just be chalked up to personal preference/how I read things. Like I said, the content was still very engaging, and it's clear the author did a vast amount of research and is passionate about the topic, which I appreciate.
January 31, 2024
Here we have a compilation of historical events that are narrated chronologically, since the discovery of x-rays and how this influenced the sensationalism of the discovery of radium later on.
We follow the trajectory that radium had in medicine, beauty and cosmetics until the beginning of the First World War with paints and wristwatches that glow in the dark, culminating in the Second World War with the atomic bomb.
A collection of bad practices with both x-rays and radium which, due to ignorance about the real consequences of these two discoveries, culminated in collateral deaths.
I quiet enjoyed this read!
I talk in much more depth about this book in a reading vlog on my YouTube channel. If you're curious, the link is in my bio!
We follow the trajectory that radium had in medicine, beauty and cosmetics until the beginning of the First World War with paints and wristwatches that glow in the dark, culminating in the Second World War with the atomic bomb.
A collection of bad practices with both x-rays and radium which, due to ignorance about the real consequences of these two discoveries, culminated in collateral deaths.
I quiet enjoyed this read!
I talk in much more depth about this book in a reading vlog on my YouTube channel. If you're curious, the link is in my bio!
July 8, 2020
Half Lives is a very comprehensive history of the discovery and use of radium in the western world at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The author explains the complex nature of radium, uranium and radon in a simple way so non-scientific readers (like myself) can understand it.
The history itself is a fascinating one which moves from the realms of science, to medicine, to theatre and cosmetics. It is quite unbelievable what people in the 1920s and 1930s were prepared to put on their skin and into their bodies.
This book is intriguing and a great read.
,
The author explains the complex nature of radium, uranium and radon in a simple way so non-scientific readers (like myself) can understand it.
The history itself is a fascinating one which moves from the realms of science, to medicine, to theatre and cosmetics. It is quite unbelievable what people in the 1920s and 1930s were prepared to put on their skin and into their bodies.
This book is intriguing and a great read.
,
June 6, 2022
I read Radium Girls and was disappointed that it focused so much on the lives of the girls and just talked briefly about radium’s discovery and history. As a chemist, I had been hoping for more. This book delivers on the history of radium, including its discovery and uses in the medical and commercial fields. If you’ve read Radium Girls this is a great complimentary text and gives a more fully developed picture of the history of the element as well as its view in the world during the time of the Radium Girls story.
January 22, 2023
This very readable history of radium “Half Lives” resonates so much in my own life.
My mother’s uncle worked with Rutherford.
My mother was a radiographer in the 1940’s and by the 1960’s, knew she would die of cancer because of that.
Even in the early 80’s I worked on the cancer ward, it was considered good practice to have the ladies having radium therapy (beads inserted into the uterus) placed at the far end of the ward!
The epilogue does much to describe the context of the book, and, interestingly, brings it right up to date.
My mother’s uncle worked with Rutherford.
My mother was a radiographer in the 1940’s and by the 1960’s, knew she would die of cancer because of that.
Even in the early 80’s I worked on the cancer ward, it was considered good practice to have the ladies having radium therapy (beads inserted into the uterus) placed at the far end of the ward!
The epilogue does much to describe the context of the book, and, interestingly, brings it right up to date.
March 16, 2021
This book has interesting stories about the craze around Radium after its discovery. The author takes a strangely neutral tone about ridiculous therapeutic used of radium, and much of the material is repetitive. I suspect of much more interest to UK readers who may have some connection to a long-defunct product or spa. I found myself skipping much of the book that became a catalogue of specific businesses with similar radium (or radium-named) products, most in the UK or Europe.
March 9, 2023
This book traces the history of the use of Radium (of Radon) through time, with a focus on usage in England. My main takeaway was feeling a sort of anxiety that I often feel when a technology is used and made ubiquitous before the ramifications can be fully understood. I also feel especially thankful after reading this book for the FDA and other regulatory agencies, especially the agencies in charge of regulating advertising. It was a gift. I read it, but I don't think I'd read it again.
August 6, 2021
After a dry beginning about Becquerel, the Curies and their respective research, Santos dives into a fascinating topic: The radium fad. It's the author's favourite area and she tells the story with enthusiasm.
Full review on my blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/your-grandm...
Full review on my blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/your-grandm...
August 19, 2021
There was a time when radium and radioactivity represented a brighter, healthier future for civilization. It seemed to be the stuff dreams were made of—before they soured into nightmare. An entertaining and interesting cautionary tale about the dangers of putting too much faith in simple technological solutions as answers to all problems.
January 25, 2022
Half Lives is a very comprehensive history of the discovery and use of radium in the western world at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The author explains the complex nature of radium, uranium and radon and how they did not realize how dangerous it was and how everyone tried to say that it was create for what ails you.
The author explains the complex nature of radium, uranium and radon and how they did not realize how dangerous it was and how everyone tried to say that it was create for what ails you.
September 19, 2021
The amount of times I shook my head in horror while reading this made me wonder what every-day objects we use without questioning their safety.
Definitely a very interesting topic, but sadly, the structure felt really off to me and I wasn't glued to the page. 3 Stars.
Definitely a very interesting topic, but sadly, the structure felt really off to me and I wasn't glued to the page. 3 Stars.
October 20, 2021
Fascinating story about the history of radium (and radon), its discovery, and its exploitation in consumer products (mainly in the UK). Because of the British focus, several American stories went untold, notably that of the former spa city in Wisconsin, Waukesha.
October 26, 2021
A fun trip through when people were fascinated with everything radioactive. Not much point to the end, but an interesting journey nonetheless. For some reason she doesn’t just call Marie Curie, Marie Curie, but oh well.
February 16, 2023
Gets a bit boring and repetitive in the middle part, expounding all the different variants of radium cosmetics and quack remedies including their marketing etc. Still, the book has quite a few historical radioactive nuggets which are lesser known.
September 9, 2024
I really wanted to enjoy this book, and there are certainly some very interesting and entertaining facts, but I found it difficult to really get into and as a result it took me a significant amount of time to finish it.
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