The Elements of Marie Curie : How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

Dava Sobel acclaimed and bestselling author of Longitude chronicles the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science – and the untold story of the young women who trained in her laboratory-For decades Marie Curie was the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings and despite constant illness she travelled far and wide to share the secrets of radioactivity a term she coined- She is still the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields-Her ingenuity extended far beyond the laboratory walls; grieving the death of her husband Pierre she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne devotedly raised two daughters drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I befriended Albert Einstein and inspired generations of young women to pursue science as a way of life-Approaching Marie Curie from a unique angle Sobel navigates her remarkable discoveries and fame alongside the women who became her legacy – from Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch and France’s Marguerite Perry who discovered the element francium to her own daughter Irene a Nobel Prize winner in her own right- Elements of Marie Curie deftly illuminates the trailblazing life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time-