This is a well written biography of the Polish scientist Marie Curie. .

I like biographies about strong women like Marie Curie and I dislike them at the same time. On the one hand they promote that women can overcome the odds, they point out how unfair the world can be to women who are independent and driven and smart and that these women were really great and overcame it. On the other hand, it makes me angry to read them because the world still isn't fair. This book shows the way that Marie Curie worked so dilligently and so fiercely on her radioactive experiments, even when people kept trying to tear her down and discredit her. Its a story not just of science but of people and of society. For that reason it would probably be great in a unit on multiculturalism and acceptance, but it could also go well in a unit on inventors. It's hard teaching about inventors and having man after man after man glorified -- how do you teach girls that they are just as good as men? Women have to work so much harder to be recognized and to get ahead... ( )

An inspiring, informative account of Marie Curie and her accomplishments. Excellent science fact is conveyed by an effective narrative style and amply supplemented by photos. Good resources in the back for students interested in more.

This book brings out the inhumanity that goes on between cultures, countries, and the sexes. It tells a story of the discovery of Radium, but uses the real lives and real foibles of the people to inform us about life. This is a story that even those with no scientific interest, may find a worthy read. ( )

The story of Marie Curie - a poor Polish girl - who went on to become a scientist working with the concept of radioactivity in the search for a better way to treat injured people. She went on to invent a way that an x-ray machine could be made portable so that they could be taken closer to the battle front, and help wounded soldiers of France be more comprehensively treated. She received two Nobel prizes, working part of the time with her husband, also a scientist.