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THE RADIOACTIVE BOY SCOUT : The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor
by Silverstein, Ken
- Used
- Very Good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 037550351X
- ISBN 13
- 9780375503511
- Seller
-
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Random House, 2004. 209pp. Black hardback, DJ VG with slight wrinkle to upper back edge, stated First Edition, The story of David Hahn, a young Boy Scout in Detroit, who builds a breeder reactor in his backyard, . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good.
Synopsis
Growing up in suburban Detroit, David Hahn was fascinated by science, and his basement experiments--building homemade fireworks, brewing moonshine, and concocting his own self-tanning lotion--were more ambitious than those of other boys. While working on his Atomic Energy badge for the Boy Scouts, David's obsessive attention turned to nuclear energy. Throwing caution to the wind, he plunged into a new project: building a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard garden shed.In The Radioactive Boy Scout, veteran journalist Ken Silverstein recreates in brilliant detail the months of David's improbable nuclear quest. Posing as a physics professor, David solicited information on reactor design from the U.S. government and from industry experts. (Ironically, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was his number one source of information.) Scavenging antiques stores and junkyards for old-fashioned smoke detectors and gas lanterns--both of which contain small amounts of radioactive material--and following blueprints he found in an outdated physics textbook, David cobbled together a crude device that threw off toxic levels of radiation. His unsanctioned and wholly unsupervised project finally sparked an environmental catastrophe that put his town's forty thousand residents at risk and caused the EPA to shut down his lab and bury it at a radioactive dumpsite in Utah.An outrageous account of ambition and, ultimately, hubris that sits comfortably on the shelf next to such offbeat science books as Driving Mr. Albert and stories of grand capers like Catch Me If You Can, The Radioactive Boy Scout is a real-life adventure with the narrative energy of a first-rate thriller.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Karen Wickliff - Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- w181126098
- Title
- THE RADIOACTIVE BOY SCOUT : The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor
- Author
- Silverstein, Ken
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 037550351X
- ISBN 13
- 9780375503511
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2004
- Keywords
- Juvenilr Fiction Biography David Hahn Gifted Children Breeder Reactors Boy Scouts America Physics Science Detroit Experiments
- Bookseller catalogs
- Young Adult; Biography;
Terms of Sale
Karen Wickliff - Books
All prices are net to everyone. Credit cards are accepted through the Biblio site. Checks are accepted payable to Karen Wickliff and sent to 3527 N. High St., Columbus OH 43214. Additional information and questions answered at 614-263-2903, 11:30-5:30 Eastern Time or by chance at other times. Returns are accepted up to thirty days of receipt. Occasionally, extra shipping charges will apply for heavy items shipping long distances or with special requirements.
About the Seller
Karen Wickliff - Books
Biblio member since 2005
Columbus, Ohio
About Karen Wickliff - Books
KAREN WICKLIFF BOOKS - We are a used bookstore in Columbus, Ohio 43214. 614-263-2903 wickliffbooks@wowway.com. We have been in the book business for over 40 years and are located at 3527 N. High Street about three miles north of Ohio State University in the Clintonville area. We accept cash or checks, but not credit cards. There are bank machines in the neighborhood. We have a wide variety of interesting books, many of which are scarce, from recently printed, out of print, scholarly and collectible. Literature, fiction, mysteries, science fiction, ancient, classical, medieval and modern history, science, nature, religion, children's, art, poetry, drama, music, folklore, linguistics, philosophy, travel and military are our main sections with hundreds titles available in each. We also have old books with attractive bindings, post cards, a few magazines and interesting pamphlets and brochures. Someone is usually here Monday - Friday 10:00 - 2:00. Other times are by chance or appointment. 614-263-2903
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- VG
- Very Good condition can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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