Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 12/2/2023 + 1221 more book reviews

This was quite a fascinating account of how a young 17-year-old high school boy was able to obtain the material necessary to attempt to build a model nuclear reactor in a backyard potting shed. David Hahn who grew up in suburban Detroit in the 80s and 90s had a real obsession with chemistry. His mind didn't seem to work like other people's; he was not a very good student, couldn't spell, but he had a yearning for chemistry. At a young age he had a copy of "The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments" that provided him with a myriad of chemical experiments that he performed as well as background information on some of the greats including the Curies and their experiments with radium. He became obsessed with nuclear energy and decided to try to build a nuclear breeder reactor which in theory would be able to generate its own power by producing excess fissionable material than it consumes. Hahn obtained information from industry experts and the U.S. government and was able to obtain radioactive material from old radium coated clocks, smoke detectors, and gas lanterns. Ultimately he was able to put together a crude device that threw off toxic levels of radiation and sparked and environmental emergency putting his town's residents at risk. The EPA ended up burying the project in a dumpsite in Utah.

I really found this story to be quite compelling and interesting. Silverstein includes a lot of information about the development of atomic power, the atom bomb, breeder reactors, and the Boy Scouts, as well as telling the story of Hahn and his experiments. Hahn ended up being an eagle scout and used his knowledge of nuclear physics to receive a merit badge in atomic power. This book was published in 2004 and was based primarily on the author's interviews with Hahn. Hahn later died in 2016 at the young age of 39 as a result of drug and alcohol abuse but his exposure to radiation could have also been a factor. He never lived up to his potential and was diagnosed with mental conditions as well. A somewhat tragic ending to a quite amazing story. Reading this has also piqued my interest in the development of nuclear power and the atomic bomb and I probably will be reading more about it.

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