Midnight in Chernobyl

Midnight in Chernobyl is an equally thrilling and chilling book that goes into great detail about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster that occurred in 1986. What I appreciated most about this book was not only its detailed chronology of the disaster on the day it occurred, but also the breadth of context that Higginbotham provides of the years leading up to the destruction of reactor number 4. Disasters are always more than just the decisions made on the day they occurred, and for that reason Higginbotham tells the reader about Soviet reactor design philosophy and the mistakes built into… show more.

The world continues to consider nuclear power, despite the devastation to the nuclear industry caused by the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Nuclear power can play a part in fighting climate change, but we need to be aware of the risks as well as the rewards. Beyond that, it is a well-researched and dramatic story about the trauma that ensues when human communities are beset by environmental disasters.

Revealing how one small incident escalated into an international tragedy and how the secret Soviet state tried to cover it all up. Higginbotham opens up the mystery and gets right inside this most scary story. It could be great fiction except for the fact that it really happened.