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34 reviews for:
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor
Ken Silverstein
3.45 AVERAGE
34 reviews for:
The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor
Ken Silverstein
3.45 AVERAGE
Writing was poor and biased. This was reading more like an idolization of a person who was actually very disturbed. Gave me the ick.
You should find out what happens after the book ends too, because David Hahn died in 2016. This was a very interesting read but as an educator I found it really unnerving. This young man was clearly very intelligent but did poorly in school and was thus dismissed. Had there been a mentor or a single person to help give him direction he might have been able to do very amazing things in life instead of turning into this cautionary tale.
Based on a Harper's magazine article that is the appropriate length for this topic. This book is essentially the same article but with a bunch of padding to make it book length.
informative
sad
medium-paced
This is a very good book. Well written and the story is told in an interesting way.
I can identify with the main character. While I never went so far as to build my own nuclear reactor I did grow up in an area where there weren't a lot of learning resources in the science field. Lets hope better learning resources are available for every student out there!
I can identify with the main character. While I never went so far as to build my own nuclear reactor I did grow up in an area where there weren't a lot of learning resources in the science field. Lets hope better learning resources are available for every student out there!
Information about history of radium in manufacturing, breeder reactors, basics of nuclear fission.
History of boyscouts
Eccentric youth biographies
History of boyscouts
Eccentric youth biographies
I checked this out looking for fun nonfiction to booktalk to teens. It was listed on one of the best-of nonfiction lists for teens from ALA. It's an expansion of an article the author wrote for Harper's Magazine. And it felt like it. It felt like there was this core story, then a lot of extra information that wasn't necessarily crucial for the story to be told. Silverstein goes into detail about the history of the Boy Scouts, of the atomic energy movement in the United States, a tonne of detail about the scientific processes the kid went through to do what he did etc. etc. And some of it is interesting to this adult. But I really don't think it would interest any but the most scientifically minded teens. The first half or so of the book goes very quickly but it seriously bogs down in the second half and by the end I was desparate to finish, which is never a good sign. Almost dropped it a few times. Too bad - great cover. Worth reading, as I appreciate the context Silverstein gives the phenomenon, but not teen-friendly.
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was an interesting story of a boy, who in the 1990's managed to research nuclear science, procure materials, and build a small version of a nuclear breeder reactor in a shed at his mother's house. There is some good science to be had in this book.
One complaint I have is that the book does have a somewhat anti-nuke sentiment. I was reading this book from the perspective of reviewing books that our English department might have 8th graders read. Not only is the biased viewpoint troublesome, but they paint the boy (David Hahn) as a nerdy loner. While I'm sure the portrayal is accurate, I don't think it is a message to keep reinforcing with teens.
Having said that, this was a really engaging story that captured my attention. Would recommend for a quick and interesting read about a brilliant young mind.
One complaint I have is that the book does have a somewhat anti-nuke sentiment. I was reading this book from the perspective of reviewing books that our English department might have 8th graders read. Not only is the biased viewpoint troublesome, but they paint the boy (David Hahn) as a nerdy loner. While I'm sure the portrayal is accurate, I don't think it is a message to keep reinforcing with teens.
Having said that, this was a really engaging story that captured my attention. Would recommend for a quick and interesting read about a brilliant young mind.
Tulsa's been hit w/ this incredible ice storm so I read this while killing time in restaurants and bookstores and while sleeping on an air bed in an empty condo in downtown. I loved this book! It's a short non-fiction story of how this kid in Michigan who is obsessed with science and atomic energy attempts to build a breed reactor in his back yard. It's shocking how much material he ends up getting for his project because he's relentless in searching for material. I'm not a science person so for me to get into this it had to have easy to understand discussions on atomic energy and it does. I love quirky true stories like this and this is certainly one of those. Probably one of the most fun things I read this year.