by Adam Higginbotham
Published
February 4, 2020
Pages
560 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Not found
Kindle
$16.99
Hardcover
$33.95
Paperback
$13.49
Audiobook
$0.00
Audio CD
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A New York Times Best Book of the Year A Time Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner From journalist Adam Higginbotham, the New York Times bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” ( The Wall Street Journal)— a powerful investigation into Chernobyl and how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the history’s worst nuclear disasters. Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering one of the twentieth century’s greatest disasters. In the thirty years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world.
But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a “riveting, deeply reported reconstruction” ( Los Angeles Times ) and a definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth.
“The most complete and compelling history yet” ( The Christian Science Monitor ), Higginbotham’s “superb, enthralling, and necessarily terrifying...extraordinary” ( The New York Times ) book is an indelible portrait of the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary.
Stepping beyond the realm of science fiction into the stark reality of humanity's most catastrophic experiment, "Midnight in Chernobyl" delves into the hidden depths of the world's greatest nuclear disaster. This unnervingly real account meticulously reconstructs the events leading up to the catastrophe, unraveling the misconceptions and myths while shedding light on the harrowing aftermath that followed.
A revealing investigation into the sequence of catastrophic events that led to Chernobyl's nuclear disaster. Offers gripping insights into the courage and sacrifices of those who faced unimaginable dangers. An essential read for understanding the profound human and environmental impact of nuclear power failures.
Midnight in Chernobyl" presents a gripping narrative that uncovers the truth behind the explosion at Reactor Number Four on April 26 1986. Through painstaking research and interviews the book provides an unprecedented insight into the political chaos and scientific mystery surrounding the event. This account based on declassified Soviet documents unveils hidden secrets long shrouded in silence.
Following the fateful night the book explores the selfless bravery of the first responders who risked everything to contain the fire. Their stories often overshadowed by misinformation are a testament to humanity’s indomitable spirit amidst destruction. Readers are guided through the sequence of events that led to decisions affecting millions.
As the narrative delves deeper it captures the geopolitical ramifications and international responses to the disaster. While illustrating the power struggle within the Soviet Union the book also surveys the long-term environmental and societal impacts on the region and beyond. It serves as both a historical account and a warning for future generations.
The author’s meticulous attention to detail paints a vivid picture of life in the shadow of Chernobyl. Employing a combination of sound research and captivating storytelling the book traces the incident's ripple effects questioning the control and responsibility inherent in nuclear power. It presents a stark reminder of humanity's potential for both invention and devastation.
Midnight in Chernobyl" challenges the reader to reflect on moral and ethical questions posed by the use of nuclear energy. It masterfully balances the raw human cost against technical and political narratives offering context to an event that still resonates decades later. This work stands as a cornerstone for discussions on energy and environmental policy.
The meticulous detail of historical facts and personal anecdotes sets this book apart Readers gain unique access to newly uncovered materials that illuminate the Chernobyl disaster from multiple perspectives. Its narrative style transforms complex technical explanations into compelling and accessible stories allowing a broad audience to grasp the scientific and political intricacies involved. By humanizing both the events and their consequences the book delivers an emotive yet factual exploration It provides crucial context and depth to an incident often understood superficially ensuring it resonates with readers long after the final page.
1501134639
978-1501134630
5.5 x 1.4 x 8.38 inches
1 pounds
Based on 11191 ratings
no problems at all.
This book is fascinating and terrifying all at the same time. I loved everything about this book and the way the disaster is told.
I loved this book. Well researched and easy to follow. How this disaster affected everyday people was very thought provoking. Be sure and read it.
This book arrived in excellent condition. This is a great book if you are really interested in Chernobyl. It gave me so much insight into the disaster and well as the Soviet Union. I ended up using it as a source for my comparative analysis of nuclear disaster management for my comparative governments class in college.
A landmark exploration of the Soviet era and the mindset talented people needed to adopt to get things done despite the bureaucracy, the intrigue, and the KGB. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred just as Gorbachev was laboring to extract his country from its authoritarian past and rejoin the community of nations. Like the mismanagement of the coronavirus epidemic in the USA, the Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath revealed to the world a dysfunctional federal system and compromised the USSR's authority as a great power. That the Chernobyl accident happened at all was attributable to the reactor's fundamentally flawed design, prematurely rushed into construction to meet Communist Party deadlines. Problems in operating the reactor a fely, discovered as soon as it went into use, were logged but never rectified. And when the reactor exploded, sending a deadly cloud of uranium particles over Scandinavia, the Soviets first stonewalled, then minimized the extent of the catastrophe, and finally took action to contain the damage. More than an accounting of a nuclear disaster, this book chronicles the demise of the Soviet system of government. All of the above and much more is painstakingly documented by the author. He humanizes this historic event by describing the personalities of the key players -- and there are many -- as well as their rise to positions of authority. To keep the enormous amount of personal and circumstantial detail under control, the author provides detailed maps, a cast of characters, a table of contents, author's notes, a glossary, and an index. Be warned: you will need them! I found myself at sea on several occasions, forgetful of the roles of characters whose long Russian names failed to embed themselves in my memory. At one point I had to go back and reread the events related to the reactor explosion so I would not lose the thread in later sections as the author described attempts to repair the damage. But the reference materials got me back on track. This book's exploration of a historic tragedy and its role in the demise of an antiquated system of government kept me fully engaged, thanks to the author's straightforward writing style and the book's chronological organization that paired events with details about the circumstances and characters that were involved in them.
I'll admit I haven't thought much about the subject since my second-grade classmates talked about it in hushed tones back in the early 90s, but the hype surrounding the new HBO/Sky miniseries has sent me down a Chernobyl rabbit hole over the last two weeks. It's been a rewarding, fascinating, and occasionally disturbing experience, and I'm glad I read this early on. Being the first full-length book I've ever read on Chernobyl, I'm happy to say this is a fairly easy read, and gripping for the most part. Adam Higginbotham has managed to cram in a huge number of viewpoints into less than 400 pages, including the perspectives of the plant workers, scientists, doctors, first responders, liquidators, ordinary civilians in Pripyat and the surrounding areas, and the Soviet elite making a godawful mess of everything from above. He's dug deep into obscure and recently declassified materials, revealing the true extent of the bad decision making that went on, and the institutional rot inherent in the Soviet system. He keeps things moving at a brisk pace and considering that I'm a slower reader than I used to be, I'm amazed I burned through it in only five days. I swear my heart was racing when Unit Four exploded, and I audibly groaned on a couple of occasions when a bad situation somehow managed to get worse. It's a case study in why dictatorships rarely last more than a few decades, or in the case of Russia, end up getting replaced with a different form of dictatorship. Gorbachev is one of the few figures who comes across as being even mildly sympathetic, if painfully naive, leaving the reader wondering exactly HOW he planned on "reforming" what essentially amounted to an 8.6 million square mile dumpster fire by that point. I'm surprised that some have criticized the level of technical detail in this book. The author has done a pretty good job explaining the history of nuclear power in the Soviet Union, how nuclear power plants operate, the many flaws inherent in the RBMK design, and what happened inside Unit Four the night of the fateful safety test. On a more frustrating level, he's also done an excellent job explaining how the decrepit, hidebound, ideologically rigid, and corrupt Soviet government turned a tragic industrial accident into a traumatic nightmare. This book also includes a large amount of supporting material not usually found in most popular histories. These include a list of the major players, maps of Pripyat and the surrounding area, diagrams of the plant and Unit Four, a lengthy bibliography, a glossary of terms, and a massive (130-page) section of footnotes. The Kindle version is generally well done, although there is the occasional typo and there are no links between the main text and the footnotes. On the negative side, the writing is sometimes rather clumsy, and while the Soviet bureaucracy deserves all the criticism it gets here, the amount of space the author devotes to criticizing an inhuman system has the ironic effect of sometimes distancing the reader from a tragedy that affected a lot of scared, confused, and yes, heroic, human beings. If you can stomach a few disturbing accounts of what radiation does to the human body, and some mildly technical descriptions of how nuclear power plants operate, this is a book that deserves to be read. It's not a flawless read, nor is it an anti-nuclear or anti-communist screed, but it's a darn good read nonetheless.
As someone old enough to remember when unit 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, I looked forward to this book's arrival and tore through it voraciously once it was delivered. The book provides a detailed and well researched history of the disaster, including the foundations of the USSR's nuclear ambitions, the influence of the Cold War, and the ever present Soviet political system in all aspects of decision making, which helped to lay the groundwork for that terrible night in 1986. For anyone with an interest in this accident, this era, or nuclear science, this is a must read.