Marie Curie by Kathleen Krull

Marie Curie is popularly known as the scientist who discovered radium, but she was much more than that, and by reading this book you’ll find out not only about her fascinating personal life, but also her amazing scientific work.  Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

 

With radium, Marie didn’t just make a stunning contribution to medicine.  In experimenting with elements that are radioactive—a word she coined herself—she fostered a greater understanding of the nature of matter. 

 

The atom:  that building block of all matter.  Since ancient times, the atom was believed to be unchangeable, indivisible, the absolute smallest thing that exists.  But Curie’s work paved the way for other scientists to investigate what went on inside it.  She spurred the discovery of subatomic particles that make up atoms.  Ultimately, her work made possible the development of the deadliest weapon in history—the atom bomb.  How she would have hated knowing that!

 

Here’s a taste of her personal life:

 

This was a woman men threatened to fight duels over, someone so passionate about science she used nine exclamation points to indicate an experiment going well.  Her life story involved broken love affairs, death threats, juicy scandas,, great losses, and especially a fierce struggle against the restrictions of nineteenth-century society.  All her life she dealt with “No Girls Allowed” signs.

Albert Einstein by Kathleen Krull

Here’s an excerpt from the introduction of this book that will give you a feeling for the style and content:  Einstein certainly had his charms.  He became king of the snappy sound bite, always bemused, sort of cuddly, with soulful eyes.  And quite rightfully, his name has become a synonym for genius.  His work in physics, the science that studied the behavior of objects in motion, was revolutionary. 

 

In this book, you’ll learn about Einstein’s early life (his family was always very supportive of him, even after he quit school a number of times), his marriage to Mileva Maric, a fellow physics student, and eventual divorce, and his many, many hours spent pondering questions like How does the universe work? and What is the speed of light?  What makes this book so wonderful is that it creates a portrait of Einstein the man (one thing you will learn is that he was very selfish) and also explains his theories in simple terms.  The writing is also delightful.  Here is another excerpt from the introduction:

 

He wasn’t afraid to fail, and he was vigilant about finding and fixing his mistakes (He did make them).  Long after he’d become an icon, a celebrity genius, he ruefully confessed “I am no Einstein.”