Saltar a navegação
Midnight in Chernobyl
Book

Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

Simon & Schuster, 2019 mais...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Engaging

Recommendation

The USSR expanded its nuclear power program in the 1970s as its economy stagnated. The first new nuclear plant opened in 1975 in Chernobyl, Ukraine. As journalist Adam Higginbotham masterfully reports, after a failed safety test on a Friday night in April 1986, Reactor Four exploded. The radioactive fire proved nearly impossible to extinguish, and the explosion contaminated the region for decades. This meticulously researched book offers fascinating technical details on nuclear power and a gripping portrait of the USSR’s final years.

Take-Aways

  • In 1970, the Soviet Union undertook an expansion of its nuclear power program.
  • Chernobyl’s plant would use a new nuclear reactor, the RBMK.
  • The Soviet state viewed its nuclear industry as a security secret and did not report failures publicly.

About the Author

Adam Higginbotham writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ and Smithsonian.


More on this topic

Related Channels