How Long to Read Snake Dance

By Patrick Marnham

How Long Does it Take to Read Snake Dance?

It takes the average reader 5 hours and 59 minutes to read Snake Dance by Patrick Marnham

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

In this unique journey across continents and centuries, award-winning author Patrick Marnham explores the ruthless dictators, dangerous minds and prehistoric precedents behind the development of nuclear power. The terrifying first use of nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 was the most controversial act of warfare in history, dramatically ending the Second World War but ushering in the age of mass destruction. Yet it was also the climax of a story that extends beyond Japan and Washington: the culmination of decades of scientific achievement and centuries of colonial exploitation. "Snake Dance" is the account of a journey that turned into a quest to discover how humanity reaches this point. Patrick Marnham travels from the opulent nineteenth-century palaces of King Leopold II of Belgium, built with riches plundered from the Congo, to the lethally derelict nuclear reactor of modern-day Kinshasa. He follows the shipment of Congolese uranium to the deserts of New Mexico for the Manhattan Project's secret test detonation. Here he uncovers the legacies of Robert Oppenheimer and Aby Warburg, two 'mad geniuses' who confronted the devastating power of twentieth-century science in very different ways. Both men travelled to New Mexico. Oppenheimer was honoured for building a bomb, the ancestor of weapons that have enslaved humanity. Warburg, condemned to obscurity and confined to a mental hospital, regained his sanity by studying the rituals of the Native Americans of the Southwest who, for thousands of years, practiced the ritual of the 'snake dance' in an attempt to harness the power of lightening. And it was in New Mexico, at Los Alamos, that the ultimate act of playing God was realised. The circle is closed in Japan. Faced with the catastrophe at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in March 2011, scientific man, like the snake dancers, is faced with a power beyond his control. Spanning three continents and the history of civilisation, "Snake Dance" is at once an intrepid intellectual adventure and a wake-up call for mankind.

How long is Snake Dance?

Snake Dance by Patrick Marnham is 354 pages long, and a total of 89,916 words.

This makes it 119% the length of the average book. It also has 110% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Snake Dance Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 8 hours and 11 minutes to read Snake Dance aloud.

What Reading Level is Snake Dance?

Snake Dance is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Snake Dance?

Snake Dance by Patrick Marnham is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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