Atlanta, GA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/05/2009 -- The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery (ISBN 978-0-615-23375-8, Astral Publishing, 2008) by Philip H. Talbert won the Florida Publishers Association’s 2009 Presidents Silver Award in the categories of adult non-fiction and memoirs. The book is the first book published by Astral Publishing and recounts a true, multi-faceted story dealing with the development of a power source that could free the world of its dependence on oil that is particularly timely as oil prices again are on the rise. The fact that Astral Publishing, a novice publishing company was awarded two Silver Awards in separate categories is considered a strong affirmation by the publishing industry in both Astral Publishing and the real life story recounted in The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery. Awarded annually, the Florida Publishers Association’s Presidents Award’s include one Gold winner and two Silver award winners. It is the most prestigious award provided by the publishing industry in Florida and is universally recognized as one of the publishing world’s premier seals of approval and winners are noted at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

“I am honored and humbled that The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery was awarded the Silver Medal Award in two categories by the Florida Publishers Association,” said Philip H. Talbert, author of The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery. “This story is one that needs to be told and I am proud that the Florida Publishers Association recognized this with their award selections. These awards indicate that the true story in The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery resonates both within the publishing industry but with the general public as well. It is my hope that we will continue with this momentum with other awards that The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery is being nominated for and the book earns its international audience at the Frankfurt Book Fair.”

Phillip Talbert was the CEO of the company that discovered this power source that would free our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and recounts his harrowing experience and the opposition he encountered from powerful interests who succeeded in blocking this discovery from being made available to the public.

The story recounted is also part conspiracy as it recounts how powerful interests went about suppressing the discovery of this alternative power source. The book also tells the story of the struggle of a company beset by powerful interest groups. The Florida Publishers Association based its award selection on the gripping personal story that Talbert recounts that could in many ways shake the very foundations of the energy and governmental world. Talbert’s recounting of this story stood out in stark contrasts to other books in the personal memoir category thus garnering the Silver President’s Award.

Talbert recounts the story of his company discovering Dr. Paul Brown, a physicist. Dr. Brown invented a revolutionary device that captured the natural decay of radioisotopes that come from nuclear waste, converting it directly into electrical energy. Dr. Brown mysteriously died in a highly suspicious accident after his discovery. Also told in the book is the story of those who profit from our heavy dependence on fossil fuels and their political masters. The skillful and gripping manner in which this true story unfolds in the pages of The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery earned high grades from the judges of the Florida Publishers Association that led to its second Silver Medal Award.

The Florida Publishers Association’s Award is the first in a series of awards that The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery has been nominated for. It is expected that based upon the rousing reception the book earned among the Florida Publishers Association that other award victories are expected to follow.

Additional information on The Half-Life of a Nuclear Battery may be obtained at http://www.astralpublishing.org