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Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

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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Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham has written a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the disaster to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.

(c) 2019, Adam Higginbotham (P) 2019 Penguin Audio

 20th Century Disaster Relief Engineering Europe Modern Social Sciences World Military Scary Inspiring Thought-Provoking Suspenseful

Critic reviews

Superb, enthralling and necessarily terrifying . . . the accident unfurls with a horrible inevitability. Weaving together the experiences of those who were there that night, Higginbotham marshals the details so meticulously that every step feels spring-loaded with tension. . . . Amid so much rich reporting and scrupulous analysis, some major themes emerge. . . . Higginbotham’s extraordinary book is another advance in the long struggle to fill in some of the gaps, bringing much of what was hidden into the light.
An invaluable contribution to history... tells a compelling story exceptionally well. (Serhii Plokhy)
Reads like a thriller: forensic, compelling and utterly terrifying.
Higginbotham tells the story of the disaster and its gruesome aftermath with thriller-like flair. Midnight in Chernobyl is wonderful and chilling ... written with skill and passion. A tale of hubris and doomed ambition.
Adam Higginbotham uses all of the techniques of the top-notch longform journalist to full effect. He swoops us into the heart of the catastrophe.
Utterly gripping and superbly researched… Higginbotham shows brilliantly how the tragedy contributed to the collapse of the whole Soviet system that had created it.
An account that reads almost like the script for a movie . . . Higginbotham has captured the terrible drama.
This is a highly detailed, carefully documented, beautifully narrated telling of this breathtakingly complex accident and its mitigation.
Secrecy, stupidity and farce: the full story of what caused Chernobyl. Surely definitive.
A gripping, miss-your-subway-stop read. Higginbotham captures the nerve-racked Soviet atmosphere brilliantly, mostly through vivid details about the participants.
All stars
Most relevant
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.

Makes the subject accessible

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from Stuart to finish it reads like a thriller only history teaches us it's not fiction , informative without preaching it rolls across the story gently and comfortably

a rare glimpse into the heart of catastrophe

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A blow by blow account of the events leading up to and following the explosion at Chernobyl. Having recently watched the HBO mini series it fills in the gaps in relation to the complexities of nuclear power, physics, politics and the recovery operations after the catastrophe in reactor 4.

Gripping recollection of a disaster that should never have happened

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Very interesting and well worth anyone's time, especially if you found the TV series interesting.

Essential

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excellent! listened to this three times already. gives detailed overview of numerous factors that contributed to the accident, including but not limited to the faults with the reactor design, the political pressures felt by those who running and operating the reactor, and the inferior materials used to build it. it details the reactors construction, to its destruction and a full breakdown of the clean up efforts following the disaster, including the efforts by the party to conceal the accident and the trial of those deemed responsible. This is a thrill/educational, minute by minute account of what occurred, with detailed insight into the key players.
thoroughly reccomend. dont be put off by the listing of key people and places at the beginning, it does get better

expansive explanation of entire event.

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