Madame Curie (Da Capo Series in Science) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "DEEP SILENCE INVADED the school building in Novolipki Street on Sundays..." (more)
Key Phrases: radium institute, pure radium, radioactive bodies, Mme Curie, Pierre Curie, Marie Curie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautiful account of the life and passion of Marie Curie, discoverer of the radioactive elements radium and polonium." -- Chicago Tribune 3/23/03 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867—1934) was the first woman scientist to win worldwide fame, and indeed, one of the great scientists of this century. Winner of two Nobel Prizes (for physics in 1903 and for chemistry in 1911), she performed pioneering studies with radium and contributed profoundly to the understanding of radioactivity. The history of her story-book marriage to Pierre Curie, of their refusal to patent their processes or otherwise profit from the commercial exploitation of radium, and her tragically ironic death are legendary and well known but are here revealed from an inside perspective. But, as this book reveals, it was also true. An astonishing mind and a remarkable life are here portrayed by Marie Curie’s daughter in a classic and moving account.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 21, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306802813
• ISBN-13: 978-0306802812
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,960,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great., May 31, 2003

By	Matthew Bratkowski "mattster" (Ithaca, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madame Curie: A Biography (Paperback)

Madame Curie is a touching and honest biography. It tells the perserving story of Marie Curie, a native Pole who would seem out of place in France and--being a woman in a more prejudice timeframe--in the scientific community in general. Although this was the case, it did not stop her from becoming one of the most prolific and important scientists in the realm of physics and chemistry.

Within this book is held the tale of a woman who worked almost every single minute of her life in either the laboratory, the classroom, or her own home. But she never faltered under pressure and endured inhospitable laboratory conditions (she was originally working in a shed to help discover radium, the element that created the field of radiation cancer treatment and spurred the field of nuclear science.

As a biographer, Eve Curie remains factual in content, allowing the reader to form an unbiased opinion of her mother. She buttresses the book with personally letters to and from Marie Curie, which add a first hand account of certain aspects of her mother's life.

A must read for anyone looking for a heartwarming story.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most human book I ever read., March 28, 1998

By A Customer

This book brought forth to me the human side of a great scientist. As a daughter, wife, mother and not the least as a patriotic citizen of a country that was being wiped out due to tyranny. I cried every time I read the book. Especially twice -- when Pierre Curie dies and when Madame Curie addresses the gathering of students. A book I cannot forget.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marie Curie - An Inspiration for All, June 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Madame Curie: A Biography (Paperback)

The book is a reprint of the biography written by Marie Curie's daughter, Eve Curie in 1937. It is a book which should be read by all - especially aspiring scientists. Marie Curie was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in France, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and the first person to receive two Nobel prizes. The work she accomplished under the most difficult situations for a scientist is truly inspiring. When asked why she and her husband, Pierre Curie did not patent the procedure for extraction and purification of radium, something which would have made them very wealthy, she said "No, It would be contrary to the scientific spirit." How refreshing, since in today's world the first thought of scientists is patenting their discoveries.