The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Adam Higginbotham: Midnight in Chernobyl (2019, Transworld Publishers Limited)
560 pages
English language
Published April 5, 2019 by Transworld Publishers Limited.
"Journalist Adam Higginbotham's definitive, years-in-the-making account of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster--and a powerful investigation into how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the twentieth century's greatest disasters. Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering history's worst nuclear disaster. 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 …
"Journalist Adam Higginbotham's definitive, years-in-the-making account of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster--and a powerful investigation into how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the twentieth century's greatest disasters. Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering history's worst nuclear disaster. 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 Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham has written a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a masterful nonfiction thriller, and the definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth. Midnight in Chernobyl is an indelible portrait of one of the great disasters of the twentieth century, of human resilience and ingenuity, and 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"--Publisher's website.
Well written fast-paced engaging book which covers the lead up and construction of the plants through to the present day. Does a great job following various people dealing with the crisis, explaining the dangers and challenges faced and the role the Soviet machine played.
"Satan sleeps beside the Pripyat."
I knew of the Chernobyl disaster, but this book showed I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. Well researched, well told, it read like a thriller with the play-by-play of a biography or memoir. I really appreciated the history and backstory behind the disaster, because I think a lot of what went on could be blamed on the Soviet-era hubris at the time and the willingness to overlook pesky things like safety measures and proper construction to save perceived face on a global scale.
I also really liked the structure of the book as a whole, where each chapter was dedicated to one part of what ends up being a very complex whole. It does seem to jump around a bit, particularly in the beginning, but with each chapter focused on a particular topic related to the disaster I feel like …
"Satan sleeps beside the Pripyat."
I knew of the Chernobyl disaster, but this book showed I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. Well researched, well told, it read like a thriller with the play-by-play of a biography or memoir. I really appreciated the history and backstory behind the disaster, because I think a lot of what went on could be blamed on the Soviet-era hubris at the time and the willingness to overlook pesky things like safety measures and proper construction to save perceived face on a global scale.
I also really liked the structure of the book as a whole, where each chapter was dedicated to one part of what ends up being a very complex whole. It does seem to jump around a bit, particularly in the beginning, but with each chapter focused on a particular topic related to the disaster I feel like it was necessary to get the whole story. Chapter highlights for me included the 6 chapters dedicated to the day of and days following the event, discussion on The China Syndrome, Inside Hospital Number Six, and The Elephant's Foot. There's some really great stuff in this book.
Highly recommend to anyone interested in reading about this catastrophic event, or if you're looking for a good, gripping nonfiction book.
A detailed account of the Chernobyl disaster. The simplifications and dramatization used in the HBO Chernobyl production are made readily apparent. There is a nice appendix explaining traditional and SI units for radiation and radiation exposure.
This book covers the events from the construction of the plant to the fall of the Soviet Union, but unlike Serhii Plokhy he does it from the perspective of the people who were actually close enough to absorb the radiation. Mostly he focused on the scientists, workers and liquidators, who had to deal with the clean up. He focused so much on these people that at the beginning of the book there was a list of characters, as if it was a play or something. I've never seen that done with a nonfiction book before, but maybe that was just a quirk of my particular edition.
Now, because I have read Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy I couldn't help but compare these two. Serhii Plokhy covered the construction of the plant and the causes of the explosion itself better then Adam Higginbotham, but Adam didn't just brush …
This book covers the events from the construction of the plant to the fall of the Soviet Union, but unlike Serhii Plokhy he does it from the perspective of the people who were actually close enough to absorb the radiation. Mostly he focused on the scientists, workers and liquidators, who had to deal with the clean up. He focused so much on these people that at the beginning of the book there was a list of characters, as if it was a play or something. I've never seen that done with a nonfiction book before, but maybe that was just a quirk of my particular edition.
Now, because I have read Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy I couldn't help but compare these two. Serhii Plokhy covered the construction of the plant and the causes of the explosion itself better then Adam Higginbotham, but Adam didn't just brush of the clean up process. After reading them both I find it that they are both necessary to understand this disaster, just to get all the angles.
Lastly, on to the Voices of Chernobyl to see what the ordinary people had to say about this whole mess.
Well written examination of the Chernobyl disaster, its causes, its aftereffects, and the peculiarities of Soviet reality that determined how it all played out. By focusing on the indivduals involved as people with histories, families, goals, and opinions, the author made a news event from a faraway place seem more like something that really happened.
A fascinating, moment-by-moment account of an unimaginable catastrophe, written in the novelistic style of authors like Erik Larson. One of the non-fiction, historical accounts I’ve read in a while.
A detailed account of the Chernobyl accident and the aftermath.
I listened to the audiobook and I found the story of the individual members a little confusing because of the large number of Russian names. I think this may be easier to follow with text. The story was compelling and I learnt a lot of new details about the accident which I thought I was familiar with before.
The most interesting revelations for me were the details of the design of the reactor and how unstable it was under certain circumstances. I had assumed operator error but there were scenarios where the reaction could become unstable under fairly normal operation. Even the operators knew it was treacherous compared to other reactors that they had worked on.
Coverups, corruption, bad design, bad workmanship all played a part. Over all it is a good read for both pro and antinuclear readers as …
A detailed account of the Chernobyl accident and the aftermath.
I listened to the audiobook and I found the story of the individual members a little confusing because of the large number of Russian names. I think this may be easier to follow with text. The story was compelling and I learnt a lot of new details about the accident which I thought I was familiar with before.
The most interesting revelations for me were the details of the design of the reactor and how unstable it was under certain circumstances. I had assumed operator error but there were scenarios where the reaction could become unstable under fairly normal operation. Even the operators knew it was treacherous compared to other reactors that they had worked on.
Coverups, corruption, bad design, bad workmanship all played a part. Over all it is a good read for both pro and antinuclear readers as the dangers are well explained.
