First of all, I don’t usually read nonfiction. Secondly, titles with colons intimidate me. I like a story. A pretend story. With action, or suspense, or reflection. I like the movie in my head.

Fifteen years ago, the United States stopped making plutonium-238, one of the most toxic substances known to man. It can be fatal to inhale so much as a speck of the radioactive isotope. But now, ...