Before the Fallout

　　In 1898, Marie Curie first described a phenomenon she called"radioactivity." A half-century later, two physicists would standbefore dawn in the New Mexico desert, slathering themselves withsunscreen-and fearing that the imminent test detonation mightignite Earth's atmosphere in a cataclysmic chain reaction andtransform our planet into a burning star.　　This is the epic story of Curie's quest to unlock the secrets ofthe material world; of the scientists-Rutherford, Bohr, Einstein,Oppenheimer-who built upon her work; of the day the first weapon ofmass destruction dropped on Hiroshima, bringing both sudden terrorand sudden peace, and of the new era of global uncertainty thatemerged in its wake. With the clarity of great science writing, thevividness of historical narrative and the insight of biography,Before the Fallout is an unforgettable and sweeping accountof the scientific discovery that changed the world.