BOOK OF THE MONTH: FEBRUARY 2011

                                                        
Title         : MARIE CURIE: A Biography
Author     : Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie
Pages       : 189 
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Published:  25 January 2011
Price        : $ 17
ISBN       : 13: 978-1616142162

2011 is the Year of  Chemistry. The year coincides with the centenary year of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry to Marie Curie. And if you are preparing for the activities relating to this, here is a book for your reference- Marie Curie:A Biography. It covers her entire lifetime, beginning with he rearly life and education in a Poland under the oppressive rule of the czar of Russia. This book, however, looks at more than her scientific achievements. The book discusses all aspects both personal and fascinating life.

Marie Curie (1867- 1934) was one of the most important women scientists in history, and she was one of the most influential scientistsman or womanof the 20th century. Curie postulated that radiation was an atomic property, a discovery that has led to significant scientific developments since. She was also the first person to use the termradio activity. Her perseverance led to the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium. This combination of creativity and perseverance netted her two Nobel Prizes. one in physics and the second in chemistry.

There is probably no woman scientist more famous than Marie Curie (1867-1934). She made one of the most important theoretical breakthroughs of the twentieth century when she postulated that radiation was an atomic rather than a chemical property, an important milestone in understanding the structure of matter. Not only did she coin the term radioactivity, but her painstaking research culminated in the isolation of two new elements, polonium and radium. For her achievements she won two Nobel Prizes, one in physics (in 1903) and the other in chemistry (in 1911).

This informative, accessible, and concise biography looks at Marie Curie not just as a dedicated scientist but also as a complex woman with a sometimes-tumultuous personal life. Historian of science Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie describes Curie’s life and career, from her early years in Poland, where she was born Maria Sklodowska; through her marriage to and collaboration with Pierre Curie; her appointment as the first female professor at Sorbonne University after his untimely death; and the scientific work that led to her recognition by the Nobel Prize committee.

Ogilvie also candidly discusses the controversy that surrounded Marie when detractors charged that her work was actually performed by her late husband. Finally, she describes Curie’s work in founding the radium institutes to study radiation and in establishing mobile X-ray units during World War I. Eventually, her long exposure to radium led to her death from aplastic anemia in 1934. A year later, Albert Einstein published a tribute to her in memoriam, praising both her intuition and her tenacity under the most trying circumstances.

Ogilvie’s appealing narrative brings the brilliant scientist and courageous woman to life in a story that will continue to inspire future scientists. Ogilvie, now retired, is formerly a professor of the history of science and curator of the history of science collections at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of  Searching the Stars: The Story of Caroline Herschel and Women in Science: Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century and editor of many dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Review Text Courtesy: http://www.prometheusbooks.com/, http://www.goodreads.com/, http://www.traderscity.com