Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie by Barbara GoldsmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this biography, having very little knowledge of Marie Curie this book satisfied understanding some of her life. Born in 1867 as Marya Sklodowski she grew up in an occupied Poland. Her father was a scientist and teacher, but unable to practice due to the political situation, yet he strove to give the highest education possible to all his children, even the girls such as Marie. Without this foundation she never would have succeeded to becoming the first woman awarded the Nobel Prize, let alone twice.
Unfortunately, the death of her mother and older sister, within two weeks of each other, brought about a depressive state that would recur in Marie’s life particularly when faced with loss. Despite her emotional illness, and the prejudices against women, Curie was able to persevere and focus on her scientific work in radiology.
It isn't a long book and with all that she accomplished certainly much more can be written about her. The scientific details are thin, enough to understand the significance but without going into details that only scientists can truly grasp. If someone wants in depth science that Curie accomplished, this is not that book. For the basics of a biography, this was a good book.
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