Books like The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein

Growing up in suburban Detroit, David Hahn loved science and pushed the limits of his basement experiments. When he earned his Atomic Energy badge with the Boy Scouts of America, his curiosity shifted to building a nuclear breeder reactor in his backyard shed. Posing as a physics professor, he gathered design information from U.S. government sources and industry experts, using parts scavenged from antique stores and junkyards. Following blueprints he found in an outdated physics textbook, Hahn assembled a crude device that released toxic levels of radiation, endangering the town’s forty‑thousand residents. The Environmental Protection Agency closed his lab and buried it at a radioactive dumpsite in Utah. Ken Silverstein’s nonfiction account traces the months of Hahn’s improbable quest, offering an intriguing look at the intersection of youthful ambition, science, and public safety.

First publish date: June 21, 2004