Uranium - Tom Zoellner

Uranium is a common element in the Earth's crust and the only naturally occuring mineral with the power to end all life on the planet. After WWII, it reshaped the global order - whoever could master uranium could master the world. Fortunes have been made from this yellow dirt, massive energy grids have been run from it. Fear of it panicked the American people into supporting the war in Iraq and its spectre threatens to create further conflicts in Iran and North Korea. Here, Tom Zoellner takes readers around the globe in an intriguing look at an immensely powerful mineral.