Marie Curie: a Biography

This concise look at the life of one of the most famous female scientist gives readers insight into her struggle with the demands of family and the social responsibility associated with her groundbreaking work in physics and chemistry. The youngest daughter of educated Polish parents, during an era when Russian control clamped down on the slightest hint of Polish nationalism, Marie learned early that you had to fight, often secretly, for what you believed in. With a childhood marred by the deaths of her mother and sister, these early lessons made this "stubborn" woman determined to get an education at a time when women were not encouraged to attend university%E2%80%94let alone to study science. Ogilvie reveals a deeper story behind Marie's romantic and professional relationship with Pierre Curie, a kindred soul who, like Marie, believed that "salvation lay in science and religion." A shy, private woman, she couldn't understand the publicity over her later relationship with physicist Paul Langevin, years after Pierre died in a traffic accident. Even as her health faded, a terrible side effect of handling radioactive materials for years, she continued to work hard. Ogilvie's biography offers brisk insight in this fascinating woman whose life and work became the model for the modern female scientist. (Dec.)