Son of a Protestant priest, he studied history in Münster, Berlin (Freie Universität) and Hamburg from 1963 to 1968.

1972 till 1974 Radkau wrote together with George W. F. Hallgarten a synopsis of German industry and politics.

His views about the role of Hermann Josef Abs in German negotiations with Israel led to legal claim of Deutsche Bank.

In 1980 Radkau received the venia legendi for his study of the rise and crisis of the German nuclear industry.

Besides forestry and the role of environmental protection in the German history, including the Third Reich, Radkau researched as well the relation between Nervosität (Anxiety) and technical development in the German Empire, adding biographical studies about Thomas Mann and Max Weber.