Ebook Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe Audible Audio Edition Serhii Plokhy Ralph Lister Hachette Audio Books
Download As PDF : Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe Audible Audio Edition Serhii Plokhy Ralph Lister Hachette Audio Books
From a preeminent historian of Eastern Europe, the definitive history of the Chernobyl nuclear disasterÂ
On the morning of April 26, 1986, Europe witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in history the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine. Dozens died of radiation poisoning, fallout contaminated half the continent, and thousands fell ill.Â
In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy draws on new sources to tell the dramatic stories of the firefighters, scientists, and soldiers who heroically extinguished the nuclear inferno. He lays bare the flaws of the Soviet nuclear industry, tracing the disaster to the authoritarian character of Communist party rule, the regime's control of scientific information, and its emphasis on economic development over all else.Â
Today, the risk of another Chernobyl looms in the mismanagement of nuclear power in the developing world. A moving and definitive account, Chernobyl is also an urgent call to action.
Ebook Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe Audible Audio Edition Serhii Plokhy Ralph Lister Hachette Audio Books
"I purchased this book because I was interested to learn what I missed. In April 1986 (when the reactor exploded), I was a senior in high school, just weeks short of graduation and thus oblivious to the world. Thorough in his approach, this book explores the disaster from the foundations - back in the 1960's when the Russian nuclear energy program was just getting started in Pripyat. In painstaking and excrutiating detail, he explores the disaster step by step. What I did not expect was the broader perspective he offered on Russian history since then. The author asserts that one of the key reasons for the collapse of the USSR was Chernobyl. Perhaps I am not sufficiently well-read, but that was the first I had encountered that argument. Based on his research and presentation, I find his argument quite compelling."
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Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe Audible Audio Edition Serhii Plokhy Ralph Lister Hachette Audio Books Reviews :
Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe Audible Audio Edition Serhii Plokhy Ralph Lister Hachette Audio Books Reviews
- I've read about everything I can find on Chernobyl. I am an environmental engineering professor and I am most interested in the impacts of the explosion. Nuclear engineering is not my specialty but it is easy to understand the problems that caused the explosion. This account covers the explosion, the people involved and the consequences but not in the same detail that others have written, such as G Medevdve or Piers Paul Read. I think the precise details of the event will never be known, but the author is a little kinder to Dyatlov. He does state that most observers at the trial believed he was the most culpable. Certainly Medevdve puts the blame squarely on Dyatlov for a variety of bad decisions. What's different about this book is that it is current and contains information on the later effects the explosion. We American's sometimes think we Ronald Reagan outspent the Soviet Union on star wars weapons, but I think the reality is different. Their economy was bad and because of Chernobyl, people understood that they could not believe their government. "Soviet nuclear reactors are safe - it is only in the capitalist west that profits are more important than safety." If you have not read much on Chernobyl then this book will give you a pretty complete understanding of the issues. If you have read a lot, it will give you a little different view on the events leading up to and just after the explosion, but more importantly, a new perspective on the later impacts of damage of the lies and secrecy of the Soviet system on its final demise.
- I purchased this book because I was interested to learn what I missed. In April 1986 (when the reactor exploded), I was a senior in high school, just weeks short of graduation and thus oblivious to the world. Thorough in his approach, this book explores the disaster from the foundations - back in the 1960's when the Russian nuclear energy program was just getting started in Pripyat. In painstaking and excrutiating detail, he explores the disaster step by step. What I did not expect was the broader perspective he offered on Russian history since then. The author asserts that one of the key reasons for the collapse of the USSR was Chernobyl. Perhaps I am not sufficiently well-read, but that was the first I had encountered that argument. Based on his research and presentation, I find his argument quite compelling.
- I returned from a trip to Kiev and a tour of Chernobyl and Pripyat last week. It is so interesting to read this book now! I have been fascinated with the Chernibyl disaster for years (and have a friend that was born in Pripyat) and it was so great to see this book come out recently. I also visited the Chernobyl museum in Kiev and so wish that I had read this book first . At the museum there are photos, identification cards, and other memorabilia from many of the people discussed in this book. I wish I had known at the time who each of these people were. I highly recommend reading this book before going to Kiev if you plan to in the future. I have read many details about the disaster online at a variety of sites and this book is a fabulous collection of everything in one place! Yes, it does have a lot of politics in it, but that is very important to the event.
- I was astounded that the Chernobyl accident caused the release of //only// 5% of the reactor's core. The full core would have released the radioactivity of 500 Hiroshima bombs. Holy cannoli.
The author also detailed how Chernobyl caused the downfall of the USSR; it was the final straw that broke the Communist Party's back. I found it very interesting that the winter before the disaster, the Party Congress wanted more reactors constructed throughout the Soviet Union in five years--despite the fact that Soviet nuclear scientists understood that the minimum time to build a reactor, from architectural drawings to completion, was seven years.
As a result, the author, a Harvard professor, contextualizes the reactor's explosion--lots of political and personal pressures.
I really got a lot from this book. - I liked it a lot. Perhaps because of it's relatively "late arrival" on the scene - it certain takes advantage of the time span between the initial date of the disaster up to the present., that said, however, the author presents the material in a very-easily & readable format for even the relatively uninitiated folks who may not have any prior understanding of what happened and what led up to the disaster occurring in the first place. The author covers all of that and more. An excellent book on the subject - well researched! If you're going to have but one book on the Chernobyl disaster, this one is it!!
- Outstanding review of what really happened at Chernobyl. This should be required reading for anyone wanting to know about nuclear energy, but more importantly how the soviets handled this disaster. The KGB and leaders let their people down in spite of the sacrifices the Ukraine people and others made to desperately control the radiation and the poisonous effects it had.
- I have found myself drawn into the story of Chernobyl the last few months and this is the ultimate, authoritative history in my view. Extremely readable. One hesitates to say "enjoyable" anywhere near a tragedy on this scale... but the writing is excellent, both at the level of language and story-telling. I had no idea to what extent Chernobyl isn't just a tragedy of the past, but potentially on an ongoing danger of apocalyptic proportions. And there are other similar potential dangers in the world. I wish these issues were more in the news. Pass this book around.
- I liked the level of detail when the author dealt with the aftermath of this disaster -- the individuals, the details, etc. The author seemed to have no favorites or "unfavorites" in this accounting. I have read many Chernobyl and other nuclear power misadventure books, and Plokhy's "Chernobyl" filled some gaps in my knowledge of this unfortunate and unnecessary catastrophe.
Highly recommended to those who wish to know more about the Chernobyl nuclear accident, its principals, and other informative details.
