Half Lives

Half Lives PDF Author: Lucy Jane Santos
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643137492
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
The fascinating, curious, and sometimes macabre history of radium as seen in its uses in everyday life. Of 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.

Half Lives

Half Lives PDF Author: Lucy Jane Santos
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643137492
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
The fascinating, curious, and sometimes macabre history of radium as seen in its uses in everyday life. Of 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.

A Short History of Indonesia

A Short History of Indonesia PDF Author: Colin Brown
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781865088389
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
New in the Short Histories of Asia series, edited by Milton Osborne, this is a readable, well-informed and comprehensive history of Indonesia and its peoples, from ancient origins to the present day.

To the Flag

To the Flag PDF Author: Richard J. Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Saluting the flag in public schools began as part of a national effort to Americanize immigrants. Here, Richard Ellis unfurls the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and of the debates and controversies that have sometimes surrounded it.

Unlikely Partners

Unlikely Partners PDF Author: Julian Gewirtz
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674971132
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Introduction: River crossings -- The great helmsman departs -- Pushing off from shore -- A swifter vessel -- Navigating the crosscurrents -- Through treacherous waters -- Days on the river -- In the wake -- A tempestuous season -- The narrows of the river -- At the delta -- Conclusion: Arrivals and departures

An Invisible Thread

An Invisible Thread PDF Author: Laura Schroff
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451648979
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
A cloth bag containing eight copies of the title, that may also include a folder.

Life in Motion

Life in Motion PDF Author: Misty Copeland
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476737983
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Profiles the life and career of the professional ballerina, covering from when she began dance classes at age thirteen in an after-school community center through becoming the only African American soloist dancing with the American Ballet Theatre.

Star-Spangled Banner

Star-Spangled Banner PDF Author: Marc Ferris
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421415186
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
" In September, 2014, Baltimore and the United States will mark the bicentennial of the event that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner." But Francis Scott Key's poem, set to a British drinking song, has not always been our anthem, nor even especially popular. Aiming at a broad readership, Ferris examines the history of the song through the generations that followed the War of 1812, the kinds of Americans who rallied behind the song, and the successful lobbying effort that in 1933 convinced Congress to adopt the music and four stanzas as our official national anthem. Since then many citizens have called for its replacement with something less warlike; people quarrel over its apparent militarism and also difficulty level. Politically, Ferris finds, the song has an interesting and somewhat tortured story. Are we the only nation on earth with a controversial national anthem?"--Provided by publisher.

Odd Wisconsin

Odd Wisconsin PDF Author: Erika Janik
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society
ISBN: 0870205412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
While Bob La Follette's exploits as leader of progressive politics are legendary, his early morning exertions to save valuable government documents and executive department paintings during the disastrous 1904 capitol fire are largely unknown - until now. Odd Wisconsin captures the Wisconsin people, places, and events that didn't make it into conventional state histories, lowering a bucket into the depths of Wisconsin history and bringing to light curious fragments of forgotten lives. This unique book unearths the stories that got lost to history even though they may have made local headlines at the time. No mythical hodags or eight-legged horses here! Odd Wisconsin features strange but true stories from Wisconsin's past, every one of which was documented (albeit by the standards of the day). These brief glimpses into Wisconsin's past will surprise, perplex, astonish, and otherwise connect readers with the state's fascinating history. From "the voyageur with a hole in his side" to "pigs beneath the legislature," Odd Wisconsin gathers 300 years of curiosities, all under the radar of traditional stories.

To Pixar and Beyond

To Pixar and Beyond PDF Author: Lawrence Levy
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 054473419X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
“A delightful book about the creation of Pixar from the inside . . . and like a good Pixar film, it’ll put a smile on your face.” —Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times Winner, Axiom Business Book Award * Fortune Favorite Books of the Year Top Pick * Amazon Best Book of the Year in Business & Leadership After he was dismissed from Apple in the early 1990s, Steve Jobs turned his attention to a little-known graphics company he owned called Pixar. One day, out of the blue, Jobs called Lawrence Levy, a Harvard-trained lawyer and executive with whom he’d never spoken before. He hoped to persuade Levy to help him pull Pixar back from the brink of failure. This is the extraordinary story of what happened next: how Jobs and Levy concocted and pulled off a highly improbable plan that transformed Pixar into the Hollywood powerhouse it is today. Levy offers a masterful firsthand account of how Pixar rose from humble beginnings, what it was like to work so closely with Jobs, and how Pixar’s story offers profound lessons that can apply to our professional and personal lives. To Pixar and Beyond reveals how a struggling computer animation company became one of the greatest entertainment studios of all time. “[A] delightful book about finance, creative genius, workplace harmony, and luck.” —Fortune “Part business book and part thriller—a tale that’s every bit as compelling as the ones Pixar tells in its blockbuster movies.” —Dan Lyons, bestselling author of Disrupted “A natural storyteller . . . an inside look at the business and a fresh, sympathetic view of Jobs.” —Success Magazine

Unlikely Alliances

Unlikely Alliances PDF Author: Zoltán Grossman
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295741538
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Often when Native nations assert their treaty rights and sovereignty, they are confronted with a backlash from their neighbors, who are fearful of losing control of the natural resources. Yet, when both groups are faced with an outside threat to their common environment—such as mines, dams, or an oil pipeline—these communities have unexpectedly joined together to protect the resources. Some regions of the United States with the most intense conflicts were transformed into areas with the deepest cooperation between tribes and local farmers, ranchers, and fishers to defend sacred land and water. Unlikely Alliances explores this evolution from conflict to cooperation through place-based case studies in the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, Northern Plains, and Great Lakes regions during the 1970s through the 2010s. These case studies suggest that a deep love of place can begin to overcome even the bitterest divides.