{"product_id":"half-lives-the-unlikely-history-of-radium-9781643137483","title":"Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe fascinating, curious, and sometimes macabre history of radium as seen in its uses in everyday life.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOf 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHalf Lives\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLucy 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHalf Lives\u003c\/i\u003e is a new history of radium as part of a unique examination of the interplay between science and popular culture.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pegasus Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/06\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781643137483\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/10\/2021\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Lucy Jane Santos","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40190501617845,"sku":"9781643137483","price":24.61,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_77e38a88-b9fe-4c5d-a4dc-48868fe2fed5.jpg?v=1623130901","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/half-lives-the-unlikely-history-of-radium-9781643137483","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}