Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner

The story of uranium is, of course, an epic that has no end (thankfully). Tom Zoellner brings us up to date with Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World. It is tale that begins with the formation of the earth, but being more concerned with human pursuit of wealth, power, and a better life through uranium, he starts in the the Middle Ages. When Czech miners dug for silver at St. Joachimsthal, they also found a greasy, dark matter that stuck to their picks. They called it pechblende, meaning bad-luck rock, and tossed it aside. Within fifteen years of mine operation, many of these men began to cough, spit blood, and die without a known cause. The silver soon ran out, the tragedy was forgotten, and the piles of waste surrounded the neglected mines for several centuries.

Zoellner picks up the story in 1896 when French chemist Henri Becquerel discovered strange emissions in his cathode ray experiments, leading the Curies to begin their studies of radioactivity. For the next several decades, most scientists thought rare radioactive elements would be of most use in medicine. Early in the 20th century, only novelist H. G. Wells suggested that an unnamed rock could produce both great energy for industry and powerful bombs for the military conquest, but his idea was considered fantasy.

The search for uranium began in earnest during World War II. Here is a part of the story that will surprise many readers. Even as the physicists of the Manhattan Project worked to build a weapon to give the Allies an edge to end the war, the potential for atomic weaponry was not realized. Military intelligence assured the president and his defense council that very little uranium existed anywhere and that only one mine in the Congo had ore worth extracting. Because the U.S. had firm control of that one mine, there was no danger of a proliferation of atomic weapons. Also, agents reported that Soviet scientists would never be able to understand how to build a bomb.

Of course, uranium turned out to be in many places, especially behind the Iron Curtain, and nations large and small sought supplies to become players in the atomic age. Building bombs is not difficult with highly enriched uranium. Fortunately, enriching uranium is still a very difficult and costly process.

In the last two thirds of Uranium, Zoellner takes readers to remote locations in many countries, including the Congo, Niger, western Australia, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, India, former states of the Soviet Union, and the desert southwest of the United States, places were ore is mined, refined, and shaped into weapons. He also follows international inspectors working to lessen the threat of terrorists obtaining weapons-grade material. Through his reporting of this research, he recounts 70 years of science, diplomacy, and fear. Readers who enjoyed his The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds will recognize and appreciate his quick-moving narrative.

Zoellner, Tom. Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World. Viking, 2009. 337p. ISBN 9780670020645.

Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege by Amira Haas

When you belong to a book club, you will at some point book read books that you never had on your list. That was the case with me and Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege by Amira Haas. It is already an older book (translation 1999) that I did not recall. It deals with the Gaza Strip, one of the Palestinian enclaves with the state of Israel, not a subject that I long to contemplate. The troubles in the Middle East have been daily news for sixty years. What more could I learn that I have never heard?

The problem with relying on broadcast or even print news is that it rarely gets under the surface of the story. Reporters drop in and soon leave, just reporting what they learn from a little observation and listening to official spokespeople. Amira Haas, an Israeli journalist and a Jew, however, became a Gaza resident to observe the lives of Palestinians over the course of several years. What she found was quite troubling, an entire society being repressed.

While Haas tells intimate and compelling stories, the net effect of the book is overwhelming. I took nearly two weeks to read her book filled with many accounts of injustice and hopelessness. Palestinian authorities and Israeli political and military leaders have all failed to even consider the lives of the powerless men, women, and children of Gaza, many living in refugee camps since 1948. 1948 is a long time.

Our discussion of Drinking the Sea at Gaza was lengthy and not confined to the content of the book. A couple of people had wished that the stories had been arranged more chronologically, to help readers understand the events. We naturally included a discussion of American policy toward the Middle East. The consensus was that our government has enabled injustice, but we had no firm ideas of what would have or can help.

The story Haas tells has, of course, been dismissed by Hamas, Fatah, and Israeli partisans, which is itself a good reason to have it in libraries, available to readers. Not many of our libraries seem to have it. Will the stories be forgotten?

Haas, Amira. Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege. Metropolitan Books, 1999. ISBN 0805057390

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

Here are some travel tips. When exploring deep in the Amazon rain forest, expect misadventure. Learn to tolerate vicious insect. Don't be surprised when you find maggots in your wounds. Don't break any of your limbs, for your companions will abandon you. When canoeing, don't drag your hands in the water! Plan for the moment when staying alive becomes more important than finding Eldorado. Also, read The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann before you go. You may change your mind.

In his book Grann mixes an account of the famous 1925 Amazon expedition of British explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett with the story of his own investigation into Fawcett's fate. Fawcett was a celebrated member of the Royal Geographical Society at the time that he led a son, his son's friend, and a small party of guides and pack animals into the forest. The Englishman was convinced that a great ancient city was to be found within the white spaces on his maps. Shunning all the latest technology, such as two-way radio and light aircraft, he set off to move fast through the forest. After sending back the last guides from deep in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, he was never heard from again.

Grann reports that around 100 people died trying to rescue Fawcett in the ensuing years. Not all of the expeditions were well documented. Many people simply disappeared in the rain forest. Some were known to have been killed by the secretive tribes who lived in the forest and were sometimes discribed as cannibals. What could Grann possibly find 80 years later?

I do not want to spoil the story, so I will let you read about Grann's discoveries yourself.

Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday, 2009. ISBN 9780385513531