Book Review: Chain Reactions: The Hopeful History of Uranium by Lucy Jane Santos

This review was first published by Booklist on October 11, 2024.

Santos’ second offering on the history of radioactivity (after Half Lives, 2021) takes readers through the history of uranium and its by-products. The earliest use of uranium was as a colorant for glass and ceramics, a use which continued into the twentieth century. Supposed medicinal uses spurred a rush to locate and mine uranium deposits, with devastating consequences for Native populations across the world. Most famously, uranium fueled the development of nuclear weapons and has been controversial as a power source. But nuclear power has a safety record surpassed only by solar, and radioactivity isn’t as dangerous as we once believed. Santos argues nuclear power deserves reassessment and another chance, especially in light of the urgent need to wean society off fossil fuels. Some of this content will be familiar to readers of Santos’ previous work, and the use of uranium in nuclear weapons and power is widely understood, so this book offers fewer surprises than its predecessor. Nonetheless, it is well researched and engaging and an important corrective to the misinformation and paranoia that surround uranium.