The Radioactive Boy Scout

This book tracks the tale of David Hahn. He was a boy in Michigan who was on his way to building a nuclear reactor in his back yard shed. The amazing thing was that David was just a below average student. He had trouble spelling relatively simple words. But he somehow got ahold of some books on chemistry and radiation and went to town.

David's first inspiration was the story of Marie Curie and the experiments she did with her husband. He was able to collect items and extract radioactive elements to use in his experiments. Of course he had to do a number of suspicious activities, such as stealing and misrepresenting himself to assorted companies and agencies.

Things came to light when some cops pulled him over one night and found his the trunk of his car filled with strange items. They thought he might be building a bomb. Specialists came in and determined the items were radioactive. Eventually a tiger team came to dismantle the shed in the back of his house where he conducted his experiments.

The real crazy thing is that he has stashed a lot of his materials inside his parents' house. They were worried that the federal agencies involved in the removal might fine them or even take their house away. So they go rid of much of the radioactive evidence into the local trash collection. Fail. Still the book was a great insight in the live and activities of eagle scout David Hahn.