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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I had no idea Rocky Flats was a thing. Now I know and am appalled at what went on there. Decent storytelling- a coming of age story mixed with scientific facts and stories of Rocky Flats. Definitely an interesting read.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Super interesting and a little scary to learn about so close to where you live
I had never heard of Rocky Flats before reading this book. As a new resident to the Denver metro area, this was utterly terrifying to discover. My husband's job when we first moved here was less than a mile from the plant and I had no idea what had happened there. I suddenly found myself relieved that the house in Broomfield we had put an offer on fell through, and we ended up living much further to the south of the plant and its radioactive pollution.
It's a must read for anyone who lives in Denver, or anyone who is interested in the US government's nuclear program and the lengths they have gone to to cover up the many, many environmental damages they have caused.
Book gets 4 out of 5 stars because I think her editor could have done a better job. I saw more than one instance where the author gave the same statistic within 2 pages of each other, but the statistic was slightly different on each page. Which one was correct? Nevertheless, it's a touching memoir and an excellent work of investigative journalism mixed together in a compelling story line.
It's a must read for anyone who lives in Denver, or anyone who is interested in the US government's nuclear program and the lengths they have gone to to cover up the many, many environmental damages they have caused.
Book gets 4 out of 5 stars because I think her editor could have done a better job. I saw more than one instance where the author gave the same statistic within 2 pages of each other, but the statistic was slightly different on each page. Which one was correct? Nevertheless, it's a touching memoir and an excellent work of investigative journalism mixed together in a compelling story line.
Kristen Iversen nails the art of narrative nonfiction in Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats. The story weaves two storylines: 1) Iversen growing up in an unstable environment, utterly unaware of the dangers lurking from the nuclear weapons plant nearby; 2) The building, operating and taking down the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver, Colorado. It’s a story of a family and a government that knows how to keep secrets.
Iversen does a fantastic job taking her years of research to tell this story in a haunting way. In the beginning, Iversen hits at something epic that is happening hidden underneath Denver’s eye on Mother’s Day 1969. It was shocking to see how the government went so far not to catch the public’s eye before the plant was built and during its operation. It also concealed and denied the wrongs they were committing to Denver’s people and environment.
Although I love nonfiction, there aren’t many of them I can sit through for multiple hours on end, but I did with this one-gobbling it up in a few days. I enjoyed Iversen’s writing style and point of view. I also liked how she jumped from the absurdness and scariness of the secret Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant to her unique upbringing just down the road.
Iversen does a fantastic job taking her years of research to tell this story in a haunting way. In the beginning, Iversen hits at something epic that is happening hidden underneath Denver’s eye on Mother’s Day 1969. It was shocking to see how the government went so far not to catch the public’s eye before the plant was built and during its operation. It also concealed and denied the wrongs they were committing to Denver’s people and environment.
Although I love nonfiction, there aren’t many of them I can sit through for multiple hours on end, but I did with this one-gobbling it up in a few days. I enjoyed Iversen’s writing style and point of view. I also liked how she jumped from the absurdness and scariness of the secret Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant to her unique upbringing just down the road.
informative
medium-paced
Oof-eye opening and terrifying. What else are people hiding from everyday citizens?!
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
SO interesting- I couldn’t put it down!