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  • Midnight in Chernobyl

  • The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
  • By: Adam Higginbotham
  • Narrated by: Jacques Roy
  • Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (755 ratings)
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Midnight in Chernobyl

By: Adam Higginbotham
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The dramatic untold story of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, based on original reporting and new archival research.

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 not only its own citizens, but all of humanity. 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Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham has written a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the disaster to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 non-fiction 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.

©2019 Adam Higginbotham (P)2019 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

An invaluable contribution to history... tells a compelling story exceptionally well. (Serhii Plokhy)

What listeners say about Midnight in Chernobyl

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

I visited Chernobyl in November 2017 having put around ten years of work into researching the disaster, though after visiting, I felt I'd learnt everything I could and it felt like the end of the road.

With the new HBO series due for release, my interest was suddenly revamped, and I checked for books on Chernobyl and this one popped up.
I feel like I've learned so much more from this book as it puts more of a personal turn on things, and even had a few shocking moments when they mention where someones flat was and I thought "Oh my god, I remember walking by that exact one!"

The first while might be a bit dry of you're only interested in the thrill of the disaster as it covers the history of nuclear power and the Soviet nuclear power programme, but I 100% encourage you to muscle through it as this book is easily one of, if not actually the best I've read!

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13 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Very-very poor narrator

The narrator has a voice like a girl receiving flowers from her boyfriend.
About the book... don’t know what to say. I’ve read some good books about this subject, but this one.,. simply boring and with sometime wrong information.
For me... lowest experience.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great explanation of events

Brilliant book slightly dodgy pronunciation of some words such as bitumen and collate that gets more annoying each time you hear it.

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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very good

need to start at chapter 4 to get into this lots big words hard to understand till capter 4

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Makes the subject accessible

I’m not a science person, so any book that can cover a lot of scientific ground pretty much from start to finish without losing me is a winner.

This is a well presented look at the background, the history, the politics, the science, and the people involved.

It covers the stories of various individuals, managing to make you care, but never overstepping the line into being sentimental or sensational about deaths.

The narration is very good. A little fast, given the amount of unfamiliar names and the science involved, but still very clear and well performed.

This is the only book on the subject I’ve read, so I really don’t know how accurate it is. But if you are looking for a good overview of the story rather than a definitive work, then I can absolutely recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating and frightening.

A solid four stars.
Really enjoyed this audiobook.
It's informative, frightening and quite upsetting at times.
Recommended

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Great on technical detail, and the Human stories behind this disaster. Well balanced, both in the failings of the Soviet System, its Nuclear program, and the risks of Nuclear power.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Required Reading

If you're interested in watching the new Chernobyl TV programme, watch this first.
Excellent writing and difficult concepts underpinning nuclear power described well without being patronising.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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the deceit

I thought this a really interesting and good read. The dreadful cover ups perpetrated to 'protect' the whole Chernobyl project and the scapegoats who lost their lives just shocking.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly Interesting

Revealing history of the development of nuclear power and its links to the arms industry. Cover ups of accidents by all including UK. Insight into dissipating Soviet Union and its desperate cling to power no matter what the human cost

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