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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
The author admits that he is an amateur and it does show. When reading I noticed a few editing mistakes and typos that I would expect from a work that had been self-published.
I think it could have been useful for the book to have been looked over by someone with a background in science or science writing. Some of the explanations can be quite oddly worded and poorly structured. Some language concerning atomic physics is not used as precisely as it ought to be, though this is to be expected in a book for a general audience.
The recount of the Chernobyl disaster is interspersed with chapters about the author's trip to Chernobyl—this doesn't really add to the book and tonally does not fit with the rest of the book. It is a bit misleading, as it means the book is a rather slim tome on the disaster itself
The author states in the preface that he cannot stand when authors of non-fiction force their opinions on the reader despite this occuring frequenty throughout the text, with the author editorialising in ways that really take you out of the book. As well as this, the author consistently states his disbelief that everything went as wrong as it did in a way that doesn't really further some generaly argument he wants to make about why the accident happened.
To not be entirely critical, the photos included are evocative and show the aftermath in a way that is not easily described and were the reason I decided to buy the book. I would seek out these photos, but defer to other books such as Svetlana Alexiavich's Voices from Chernobyl
I think it could have been useful for the book to have been looked over by someone with a background in science or science writing. Some of the explanations can be quite oddly worded and poorly structured. Some language concerning atomic physics is not used as precisely as it ought to be, though this is to be expected in a book for a general audience.
The recount of the Chernobyl disaster is interspersed with chapters about the author's trip to Chernobyl—this doesn't really add to the book and tonally does not fit with the rest of the book. It is a bit misleading, as it means the book is a rather slim tome on the disaster itself
The author states in the preface that he cannot stand when authors of non-fiction force their opinions on the reader despite this occuring frequenty throughout the text, with the author editorialising in ways that really take you out of the book. As well as this, the author consistently states his disbelief that everything went as wrong as it did in a way that doesn't really further some generaly argument he wants to make about why the accident happened.
To not be entirely critical, the photos included are evocative and show the aftermath in a way that is not easily described and were the reason I decided to buy the book. I would seek out these photos, but defer to other books such as Svetlana Alexiavich's Voices from Chernobyl
having already watched the Chernobyl moving made this book more entertaining -- I had visuals [albeit, curated] to go with the names which was helpful at keeping me interested. also, the author shares the history as well as his experiencing visiting Chernobyl -- a great addition.
informative
fast-paced
I really enjoyed 90% of this book. The chapters about what happened during the disaster at Chernobyl were excellent. These chapters were interspersed with the author's own visit to the site of the reactor and to the city of Pripyat. I enjoyed some of his descriptions of his visit to the site, but found myself jarred out of the narrative by his personal experiences. For instance, he repeatedly mentions Minecraft, which makes me think about my elementary school aged kids and dates the book. He also refers to his minor hassles on the trip in a way that starkly contrast with the death and suffering of the disaster in 1986. It's hard to feel any sympathy for how sleep deprived he felt during his trip, or his problems with translation leading to eating ice cream and cake for dinner when contrasted with people dying from radiation poisoning or being vaporized. I'm only about ten years older than the author, but these mentions made me feel like he was immature in a way that distracted me from the flow of the book. That being said, he is an excellent writer. He clearly has some interesting experiences with exploring abandoned structures. I hope he writes more books-I will certainly read them!
Good book, interesting story well told. Glad I read it.
fast-paced
I think there are better books on the subject but it's not bad
Whiplash warning!! The information contained in this book is really good and you can tell that it has been researched thoroughly. Unfortunately, the author spends so much time bouncing between the past and the present that it is impossible to actually understand what happened.
The technical discussions in the book are present in a very difficult to navigate way, and the narrative shifts halfway with little grace.
Very good and very readable. I previously read the much denser and longer Chernobyl by Plokhy but was curious after hearing this recommended on the Redhanded podcast. It’s well researched but also split with chapters on the author’s own experience of visiting the site so it’s quite compelling.