Half Lives, Lucy Jane Santos
Half Lives, Lucy Jane Santos
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Half Lives
The Unlikely History of Radium

Author: Lucy Jane Santos

Narrator: Deirdre Whelan

Unabridged: 7 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/06/2021

Synopsis

The fascinating, curious, and sometimes macabre history of radium as seen in its uses in everyday lifeOf all the radioactive elements discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it was radium that became the focus of both public fascination and entrepreneurial zeal.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—to its role as a supposed cure-all in everyday twentieth-century life, when medical practitioners and business people (reputable and otherwise) devised ingenious ways of commodifying the new wonder element, and enthusiastic customers welcomed their radioactive wares into their homes.Lucy Jane Santos—herself the proud owner of a formidable collection of radium beauty treatments—delves into the stories of these products and details the gradual downfall and discredit of the radium industry through the eyes of the people who bought, sold, and eventually came to fear the once-fetishized substance.Half Lives is a new history of radium as part of a unique examination of the interplay between science and popular culture.

About Lucy Jane Santos

Lucy Jane Santos is an expert in the history of twentieth-century health and beauty with a particular interest—some might say obsession—in the cultural history of radioactivity. She is now the executive secretary of the British Society for the History of Science. In the past, she has also worked as the director of the Crime Writers’ Association and for the Gourmet Society, where she was editor, and at the International Wine and Food Society.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kevin on 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 i......more

Goodreads review by Alice on August 26, 2021

Interesting!......more

Goodreads review by Brian on July 06, 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 w......more

Goodreads review by Verity on June 23, 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......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on 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 bee......more

Quotes

“Historian Santos tracks the history of a mysterious element in her sweeping debut…Santos keeps the science accessible, and her survey is full of fun facts; this is sure to please scientific minds and history buffs alike.” Publishers Weekly

“In telling this history, Santos is careful not to judge from the perspective of hindsight: the use of radiation in medicine wasn’t quackery, it was supported by the best current scientific understanding. It’s an entertaining and eye-opening tale of a strange time in the early history of modern science.” Booklist

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